MS NOW host Michael Steele on Tuesday said “it strains credulity” when Donald Trump talks up his health after repeatedly falling asleep in public, mocking the president’s claim earlier that day of a checkup that went “PERFECTLY” at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
The former chair of the Republican National Committee used side-by-side photos of Trump and world-class NFL athletes during an illuminating segment on “The Weeknight” showing how stark the difference between their physical appearances really is.
“There’s a great picture of Trump, side by side with athletes who supposedly carry the same dimensions as the president, let’s just put it that way,” Steele said Tuesday, noting the White House physician wrote last year that Trump was 6 foot, 3 inches tall and Steele himself is 6 foot, 4 inches.
He continued, “Donald Trump is a lot shorter than me, just to note that, and 224 pounds. So let’s take a look: Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf is 6-foot-4, 229 pounds. He has 4% body fat. Donald Trump claims his doctor said he has 5% body fat.”
Steele continued showing side-by-side images of Trump and NFL stars during the segment.
“Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold is 6-foot-3, 225 pounds,” he said. “Now you tell me, America — and [MS NOW contributor] Cornell [Belcher], you can speak for them right now — as to whether or not those numbers look like they fit the physical imagery of a president.”
Trump underwent his third “annual” checkup in 13 months on Tuesday, crowing on his Truth Social platform afterward: “Just finished my 6 month physical at Walter Reed Military Medical Center. Everything checked out PERFECTLY. Thank you to the great Doctors and Staff!”
The president had already raised some eyebrows after a second “yearly” physical last year.
The White House was forced to address Trump’s health after he showed bruising on his hand and swelling in his legs, disclosing in July that he had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a common and often benign condition involving poor blood flow from the legs to the heart.
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“Can I just say in defense of the president, I used to lie on my driver’s license all the time,” joked “Weeknight” co-host Symone Sanders. “It said I was 150 [pounds] for the last five years. I ain’t 150 now. I’ve lost 80 pounds, still ain’t 150 — but the driver’s license says 150.”
Belcher offered a rather poignant perspective following raucous laughter from the panel, namely that Trump “built so much of his brand around hypermasculinity” — and that a lot of the “MAGA cult-like behavior” revolves around him being a literal “strong man.”
“Putting his head on the body of a Greek Adonis and saying that that’s Trump,” added Steele.
“And this is why they have to keep building at it because part of his brand is this idea that he’s a strong man, he is a tough guy,” Belcher said Tuesday. “He’s the biggest, strongest, toughest guy in the room, and he can get things done.”
He continued, “And that begins to fall apart if you take that away from him.”
Watch the full “Weeknight” segment below: