In the wake of the assassination attempt against former US president Donald Trump last month, Texas congressman Ronny Jackson offered insight into the extent of the injuries to Trump’s ear and detailed the treatment he had after the attack. One week after the incident, in a memo released by Trump’s campaign office – the former president is running for re-election in November – Jackson said the gunshot wound to the right ear came “less than a quarter of an inch from entering his head”, per AP News. He added that the wound was 2cm wide and that Trump was still experiencing intermittent bleeding at the time.
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Ronny Jackson, former personal physician to ex US president Donald Trump, takes questions from the media at a White House press briefing in 2018. Photo: @RonnyJacksonTX/X","url":"https://img.
i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/08/1f3795d9-5bd7-4519-97bf-bc1fa8691bcf_50bdf8d7.jpg"} Ronny Jackson, former personal physician to ex US president Donald Trump, takes questions from the media at a White House press briefing in 2018.
Photo: @RonnyJacksonTX/X Jackson, who was the personal physician to Trump when he was president and served in both George W. Bush and Barack Obama’s administrations, spoke to the Republican presidential nominee on the day he was shot. He told The New York Times that he’d asked Trump if there was anything he could do to help, to which Trump responded, “I would prefer to have you here.
” Jackson boarded a flight the same day and arrived at Trump’s private club in New Jersey at 4.30am on Sunday. So just who is this doctor that both former presidents Trump and Obama have trusted with their lives? Ronny Jackson served in the US Army {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Ronny Jackson wears military fatigues during a 2005 deployment to Iraq. Photo: @RonnyJacksonTX/X","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/08/48201267-a834-4f1c-ab72-bd7ade7d5ddf_949e539e.jpg"} Ronny Jackson wears military fatigues during a 2005 deployment to Iraq. Photo: @RonnyJacksonTX/X According to a report by the US Department of Defense, Jackson began active duty in the naval service when he graduated from medical school in 1995.
The document also notes that, after graduating from the Undersea Medical Officer Program in 1996, Jackson took up multiple operational assignments. In 2005, he was deployed to support Operation Iraqi Freedom as an emergency medicine physician for a combat surgical shock trauma platoon. Per the Texas Tribune, Jackson was the White House Medical Unit’s director between 2010 and 2014.
The publication adds that former US president Obama personally selected Jackson to be his physician in 2013, with Jackson also serving as Trump’s physician until 2019. Why was Ronny Jackson criticised over his comments about Donald Trump’s health? {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Ronny Jackson (right) smiles as Donald Trump, then US president, makes a speech.
Photo: @RonnyJacksonTX/X","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/08/af110806-8b8d-49d0-9b73-17aa9f6116fa_a0b7cc3f.
jpg"} Ronny Jackson (right) smiles as Donald Trump, then US president, makes a speech. Photo: @RonnyJacksonTX/X Jackson was criticised for his unusually optimistic comments about the health of then US president Donald Trump. Per The Guardian, Trump is known to avoid exercise and to enjoy eating McDonald’s and drinking Diet Coke.
But in a 2018 White House briefing about the president’s annual physical exam, Jackson told reporters that Trump’s health was “excellent”, adding that the president only required around four or five hours of sleep a night. “The president’s overall health is excellent. He had great findings across the board, but his cardiac health stood out,” Jackson explained.
“Hands down he is in the excellent range ...
He continues to enjoy the significant long-term cardiac and overall health benefits that come from a lifetime of abstinence from tobacco and alcohol.” However, Jackson acknowledged that Trump’s exercise routine – or lack thereof – should change: “I would say right now, on a day-to-day basis, he doesn’t have a dedicated, defined exercise programme, so that is what I’m working on.” His alcohol and drug controversies {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Texas congressman Ronny Jackson speaks to the International Leaders Summit in 2023. Photo: @repronnyjackson/Instagram","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/08/50e88436-e09d-442d-82f0-f02c71d2600c_77e70e99.jpg"} Texas congressman Ronny Jackson speaks to the International Leaders Summit in 2023. Photo: @repronnyjackson/Instagram In 2019, Jackson was the subject of an investigation by the Defense Department’s Inspector General focusing on multiple allegations of being under the influence of alcohol while on the job as well as mishandling prescription drugs, per CNN.
According to Washington Post, Jackson was even given the nickname “Candyman” for handing out controlled medicines to White House staff without writing the appropriate prescriptions. At the time of the investigation, Newsweek reported that the White House physician had once ordered 34 fentanyl packs, 40 morphine packs and 34 ketamine packs within a nine-month period – all of which are known to be part of the US’ drug epidemic. Jackson also retired from the navy during the investigation, which CNN reported was an unusual move as military officials under investigation typically cannot retire until the process is complete.
Before his retirement, the navy also demoted him from admiral to captain. He retired from military service and became a politician {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Supporters of Ronny Jackson attend a campaign event in Canyon, Texas, during his bid for a congressional seat.
Photo: @RonnyJacksonTX/x","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/08/b5c09531-edab-4c22-99e0-c4efbbe3e221_22810d24.
jpg"} Supporters of Ronny Jackson attend a campaign event in Canyon, Texas, during his bid for a congressional seat. Photo: @RonnyJacksonTX/x After the damning investigation, Jackson left the White House, returning to his home state of Texas in 2019. In December of that year, he filed the paperwork to run for one of the state’s congressional seats and, with Trump’s support, he was elected to serve Texas’ 13th Congressional District in November 2020.
In 2022, he won re-election and has supported Trump in his 2024 presidential campaign. His recent medical treatment of the former president has raised questions {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Ronny Jackson poses in front of one of Donald Trump’s campaign posters last month.
Photo: @RonnyJacksonTX/X","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/08/31164924-2705-4f36-bf62-7cf5c1a32f25_e7802725.
jpg"} Ronny Jackson poses in front of one of Donald Trump’s campaign posters last month. Photo: @RonnyJacksonTX/X After the assassination attempt on Trump, Jackson told The New York Times, “I have a really close relationship with [Trump],” adding that he felt “helpless” being so far from him. After rushing to his side the night of the attack, Jackson treated Trump’s wound daily.
But the medical care has caused some concern. The Daily Beast reported that an activist group, the American Muckrakers PAC, questioned whether Jackson was licensed to practice medicine in New Jersey, Michigan, Wisconsin and Virginia. TMZ also noted that Jackson’s Virginia medical license expired in 2020 and that in Florida, he can only provide medical care at military facilities.
Ronny Jackson served three White House administrations between 2010 and 2019; he left while being investigated for reportedly drinking on the job and handing out prescription meds without a script After his White House tenure, Jackson left the military – with a demotion in status – and chose to pursue politics; he’s currently a two-term congressman who has former president Trump’s backing.
