Amid the festive glow of the East Room, where the air was thick with the scent of evergreen and the weight of high-stakes politics, the American president took to the podium to deliver a message that had very little to do with the holiday season. Donald Trump, ever the showman, turned a Hanukkah reception on Tuesday night into a robust defence of his own physical vitality. In a room filled with supporters and dignitaries, the 79-year-old commander-in-chief sought to silence growing whispers about his health by making a characteristically bold claim: that he is the most fit individual to ever occupy the Oval Office.
The assertion came as Trump recounted a conversation with his former White House Physician, Ronny Jackson. Now a Republican congressman representing Texas, Jackson has long been a vocal ally of the President, but Trump's latest retelling of their interactions raised more than a few eyebrows among the Capitol Hill press pack. According to the president, Jackson was once asked to compare the health of the most recent residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
