Donald Trump: Height, Weight, Obesity, And Documentation

Primary documentation from government sources -- his draft card in 1964 and his drivers license in 2012 -- gives Trump's height as 6 feet 2 inches. And, during debates in the 2016 presidential campaign, it was apparent that another debater, former Gov. Jeb Bush (6 feet 3 inches), is taller than Trump 1.

Thus, there is no doubt that Trump is 6 feet 2 inches tall (at most).

Since announcing his presidential candidacy, however, Trump has claimed he is 6 feet 3 inches tall and his physicians have acquiesced MORE. Why the discrepancy? Speculations in 2016, when Trump weighed 236 pounds, noted that he would be classified as "obese" if he were 6'2'', but would be classified as merely "overweight" if he were 6'3'' 2. Gaining to 243 pounds in early 2019, Trump now rates as obese even if he were 6 feet 3 inches tall.

He has stated (2016) that "the one thing I would like to do is be able to drop 15, 20 pounds. It would be good." 3

Speculations that Trump's disclosed weight far below his actual weight were known as the "girther" conspiracy, in mocking reference to the fatuous "birther" accusations that President Obama was born outside the United States 4.

Comment: It says something when even the height and weight of the President -- which are the simplest and most straightforward parameters conceivable -- are uncertain and thought to be manipulated. Physician participation in spreading misinformation hurts the profession (at the least).

· · · · · His draft card from 1964 states (in box 8) a height of 6' 2'' 5:

His 2012 New York state drivers license (obtained from public records of the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control through an open-records request, related to a winery Trump co-owns in central Virginia) also shows a height of 6'2'' 6:

Trump continues to claim he is six-three.

• March 2016: After an election opponent says he has small hands and is six-two, Trump responds "He said I had small hands. Actually I'm 6'3'' not 6'2''. They're not small, are they?" 7
• January 2019: At least three photographs on Trump's Facebook and Instagram sites have been altered to make him thinner. This was deduced by comparing the photos to the originals from White House sources 8. (One photo was also altered to make his fingers longer.) Comment: Photographic alterations have been a part of Presidential image-making since at least 1860 with Abraham Lincoln's photographer, Mathew Brady.

It may seem hard to believe, in the face of so many statements from Trump, that he is not six-three, but repetition of inaccuracies is his way, as illustrated in this quote unrelated to medicine 9:

His repeated claims, for example, that he actually won the popular vote -- is immutable and has had a "numbing effect" on people who work with him, said Tony Schwartz, his ghostwriter on The Art of the Deal 10. "He wears you down," Mr. Schwartz said.