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Former President Donald Trump had a backhanded 81st birthday present for his successor Monday.
The 77-year-old Trump released a glowing letter purporting to be from his personal physician crowing about his “excellent” health and claiming that he has lost an unspecified amount of weight.
“I am pleased to report that President Trump’s overall health is excellent. His physical exams were well within the normal range and his cognitive exams were exceptional,” read the letter signed by Dr. Bruce Aronwald of Morristown, NJ.
“Cardiovascular studies are all normal and cancer screening tests are all negative. President Trump has reduced his weight through an improved diet and continued daily physical activity, while maintaining a rigorous schedule,” the letter added.
Aronwald claimed to have conducted “several comprehensive examinations” of Trump since he left office, with the most recent taking place on Sept. 13.
Weeks prior to the September checkup, Trump’s weight was listed at 215 pounds when he turned himself in to be booked in a case alleging he improperly tried to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
Trump’s reported weight, which was met with widespread disbelief, would be about 30 pounds lighter than what had been disclosed in his last White House physical.
Both Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have raised questions about the former president’s cognitive abilities following a handful of verbal flubs and other mishaps on the stump.
“The presidency is not a job for somebody that’s pushing 80 years old,” DeSantis told CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday. “I just think that that’s something that has been shown with Joe Biden. Father Time is undefeated. Donald Trump is not exempt from any of that.
“I think, with somebody like me, you go in — I’m in the prime of my life — I go in day one. I will serve two terms, deliver big results, and get the country moving again. That’s what Republican voters want to see.”
Trump has a long history of boasting about his physical prowess.
During the 2016 election cycle, Trump’s campaign promoted a letter from his then-physician, Dr. Harold Bornstein, who proclaimed that Trump would be “the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.”
Bornstein, who died in January 2021, claimed in 2018 that then-candidate Trump had dictated the letter over the phone. He also alleged that three reps for the then-president had “raided” his office in early 2017 and removed then then-president’s medical records.
Trump cut ties with Bornstein after the doctor went public with his claims.
Should Trump regain the presidency and serve all four years, he will overtake Biden as the oldest sitting commander-in-chief in US history.
Should Biden get re-elected and serve a full second term, he will be 86 at its conclusion.
Biden’s physical report was released in February, declaring him a “healthy, vigorous, 80-year-old male.“
The president’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, pegged Biden at 178 pounds and six feet tall.
The doctor noted that Biden suffers from conditions including gastroesophageal reflux, nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, “mild sensory peripheral neuropathy of feet,” allergies, and nonvalvular atrial fibrillation.
Both men are their respective party’s frontrunners for the 2024 presidential nomination.
Aronwald did not immediately return requests for comment by The Post.
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