President Donald Trump has never claimed to follow a textbook diet. But when it comes to longevity, he continues to point to something he believes matters more than what’s on the plate: genetics.
Speaking Friday at a White House event honoring the U.S. Naval Academy football team, Trump revisited a familiar claim about his health while referencing his former White House doctor.
Trump Repeats Claim About Living To 200
During the event, Trump brought up former White House physician Ronny Jackson, now a Republican congressman, and repeated what he said Jackson told him.
“He took a lot of heat for this,” Trump said. “They said, ‘Who is the healthiest of the three?’ He said, ‘President Donald J Trump by far. If he didn’t eat junk food, he’d live to 200 years old.’ And I love this guy.”
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The comment refers to a comparison between Trump and former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, both of whom were evaluated during Jackson’s time in the White House medical unit.
The 2018 Physical Behind The Claim
Trump’s remarks trace back to his 2018 annual physical, when Jackson gave a detailed and highly positive assessment of his condition.
“He was in great shape,” Jackson said. “I put him on the treadmill and did a cardiac stress test on him. He knocked it out of the water. I mean, he was in the top 10% of everyone his age.”
Jackson also pointed directly to genetics.
“He has incredibly good genes, and it’s just the way God made him,” Jackson said.
He added that with a healthier diet over the previous 20 years, Trump “might live to be 200 years old.” That line has remained central to Trump’s public comments about his health ever since.
RFK Jr Details Diet And Offers A Mixed View
During a January appearance on “The Katie Miller Podcast,” U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was asked who has the most “unhinged” eating habits.
“The President,” Kennedy said.
He then described Trump’s routine in detail.
“The interesting thing about the president is that he eats really bad food, which is McDonald’s,” Kennedy said. “And then candy and Diet Coke. He drinks the Diet Coke at all times. He has the constitution of a deity. I don’t know how he’s alive, but he is.”
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Kennedy said those habits are more noticeable during travel.
“He says that the only time that he eats the junk food is when he’s on the road and he wants to eat food from big corporations because he trusts it,” Kennedy said. “He doesn’t want to get sick when he’s on the road.”
At the same time, Kennedy made clear that the pattern is not consistent.
“But when he’s at Mar-a-Lago or at the White House, he’s eating really good food,” Kennedy said.
He then described the overall impression of traveling with Trump.
“I think you get this idea if you travel with him that he’s just pumping himself full of poison all day long,” Kennedy said. “And you don’t know how he’s walking around, much less being the most energetic person any of us have ever met.”
Kennedy also acknowledged Trump’s broader health.
“I think he actually does eat pretty good food usually,” Kennedy said. “He’s got incredible health.”
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A Familiar Pattern Among High-Profile Figures
It’s a tradeoff that shows up in plain sight. The same people running companies and countries aren’t always chasing perfect diets. They’re ordering what they like, sticking to routines, and trusting everything else will sort itself out.
In Trump’s case, the formula hasn’t changed. Cut the junk food, keep the confidence in his genetics, and in his view, 200 years is still on the table.
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