--- title: This Was the Unhealthiest U.S. President description: After Trump's doctor claimed he'd be the healthiest if elected canonical: https://time.com/4148600/trump-doctor-unhealthiest-president/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-15T00:57:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:40:23.610Z article:section: Health og:title: This Was the Unhealthiest U.S. President og:description: After Trump's doctor claimed he'd be the healthiest if elected og:url: https://time.com/4148600/trump-doctor-unhealthiest-president/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25f2009da8bef936/69887555428a9e4b9ccd0916/gettyimages-ab30434.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3475 og:image:height: 1955 og:image:alt: unhealthiest-president-william-henry-harrison og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Was the Unhealthiest U.S. President twitter:description: After Trump's doctor claimed he'd be the healthiest if elected twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25f2009da8bef936/69887555428a9e4b9ccd0916/gettyimages-ab30434.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Was the Unhealthiest U.S. President > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=063efe2a-486b-4951-877f-d16d946eb7bd&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Donald Trump: 'I Have to Win' [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump: 'I Have to Win'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/RaDVQ2PJ.m3u8) (2:30)  _Published 2015-12-09. Watch Time magazine's interview with Donald Trump for Person of the Year_  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Dec 15, 2015 12:57 AM UTC  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Dec 15, 2015 12:57 AM UTC Donald Trump’s doctor [said in a statement](http://time.com/4148111/donald-trump-health-report/) earlier today that the GOP frontrunner would be the “healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency” if he wins the 2016 election. It’s hard to fact-check such a sweeping absolute statement without at least performing a physical on Trump ourselves — and there isn’t exactly a reigning “healthiest president” to pit against Trump. The designation for “unhealthiest president,” however, is easier to bestow: President William Henry Harrison died after only a month in office in 1841. There are no reports of a chronic condition at the time of his election in 1940; Harrison rather fell ill shortly after taking office. He had won the presidential race with his running mate John Tyler, becoming America’s first Whig president-elect. **Read more:** [Twitter Loves Donald Trump’s Doctor](http://time.com/4148175/twitter-donald-trump-doctor/) On the morning of March 4, Harrison took his Oath of Office at the Capitol Building’s East Portico. It was a cold, windy day, with a noon temperature estimated at [48 degrees Fahrenheit](http://www.inaugural.senate.gov/swearing-in/event/william-h-harrison-1841). Harrison was woefully underdressed for the cold, opting to not wear a coat or any reasonable outerwear. He proceeded to give the [longest Inaugural address](http://blogs.britannica.com/2009/01/inaugural-adresses-the-longest-shortest-dumbest-and-most-memorable/) in U.S. history. In addition to speaking for [two hours in the cold](http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/president-harrison-dies-after-one-month-in-office), Harrison attended three different Inauguration balls. The exposure to the weather and frivolity proved too much for the new President and he caught a cold that persisted, soon developing into pneumonia. Harrison spent the bulk of his 31 days as Commander in Chief battling the malady, before he died in Washington D.C. on April 4\. John Tyler became the first person to become President through the death of the predecessor as a result. Harrison was by no means the only president without a perfect doctor’s note during his tenure, but it’s hard to say that any other president was quite as hindered by his own health. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] [ NOISE ] I see your face. [ MUSIC ] My crowds have gotten larger. They've gotten even more energized to a point where we go into a place, whether it's New Hampshire, whether it's Iowa, whether it's Columbus, Ohio. No matter where I go, we have many more people than we anticipated. And the other thing I see now that I didn't see as much, tremendous energy, tremendous spirit. They want to make America great again. It's very simple. They want to make America great again. [ CROSSTALK ] [ APPLAUSE ] United States, Donald Trump. I am less politically correct than you're supposed to be and I will tell you, I don't do it purposely. I could be so politically correct you would sit with me and people would say, wow, he is such a fine person, he is a, I just don't have time for it. Political correctness takes a lot of time, takes a tremendous amount of time. We are lead by very, very stupid people. Mexico sends it's people. Oh I don't know what I said. They're not sending their best. I don't remember. Bringing drugs. Out of hundreds of deals that I've done. They're bringing crime. I've taken advantage of the laws of this country. They're rapists. We don't win anymore. And some, I assume, are good people. I'm really rich. I'll show you that myself. I was called by a major, major A reporter, whose name I won't use. He said, " How does it feel ?" I said, " How does what feel ?" " What you've done has never been done in the history of United States politics. I say, " What do you mean by that ?" He said, " Nobody has ever done what you've done. The energy, the crowds, the whole concept of what you've done has never been done ." And I said, " Well, what have I done? I haven't won ." If I don't win it's just a waste of time as far as I'm concerned. I will consider it a giant waste of time. He said, no you're wrong, if you don't win you have still done something that's never been done before. I tend to disagree with him, I think I have to win. I'm about winning. 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