Trump's doctor set to brief reporters on presidential physical
— -- Dr. Ronny Jackson, the presidential physician, is expected to brief reporters at the White House Tuesday on the results of President Donald Trump’s first physical exam since taking office after deeming the 71-year-old president to be “in excellent health” in a brief statement released soon after the check-up’s completion on Friday.
Jackson said he will discuss “some of the details” of the exam's results when he takes the unusual step of answering reporters questions directly at Tuesday's daily briefing.
“It is not unprecedented. It is also not considered routine,” said former ABC News correspondent Ann Compton, who covered every White House from President Gerald Ford through President Barack Obama.
Back when he served as Obama’s chief physician in 2016, Jackson released a detailed summary of Obama’s periodic check-up that included information about his vitals, an extensive list of results from the many types physical examinations conducted and laboratory results.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said a "written readout similar to those past" will be released after the briefing.
While the president is under no requirement to release details of his health information, each president must decide for himself how much information he believes the American people are entitled to know about their commander-in-chief’s physical fitness.
“A president is a very special case and each president has an obligation to decide for himself what should be made public,” Compton said, “and what conditions there may be that could affect or limit the way the president does his job.”
In her early days covering the White House, Compton recalled her surprise at the level of detail Ford revealed following one of his periodic check-ups.
"I recall a pretty detailed summary that included a reference to minor rectal bleeding, something you don’t expect to see from the White House, so certainly for a generation we’ve expected some level of candor on the physicals."
