--- ---  # President Trump's Medical Exam Is Spawning a Conspiracy Movement of 'Girther' Naysayers by [Eli Meixler](https://time.com/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Jan 18, 2018 3:09 AM UTC  U.S. President Donald Trump listens to a reporter's question as he walks on the South Lawn after arriving on Marine One at the White House December 4, 2017 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump listens to a reporter's question as he walks on the South Lawn after arriving on Marine One at the White House December 4, 2017 in Washington, DC.Chris Kleponis—Pool/Getty Images by [Eli Meixler](https://time.com/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Jan 18, 2018 3:09 AM UTC President Donald Trump’s [medical exam this week](http://time.com/5104183/donald-trump-health-ronny-jackson/) should have put to rest any questions about the president’s fitness — from his [high-calorie diet](http://time.com/5061146/donald-trump-diet-coke/) to his [cognitive function](http://time.com/5090982/donald-trump-twitter-stable-genius/) — with White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson declaring the president in [“excellent” health](http://time.com/5105096/donald-trump-physical-exam-transcript/). But the results of the checkup, which measured Trump at 6’3″ and 239 lbs., are being contested online by a conspiracy [movement of “girthers,”](http://fortune.com/2018/01/17/trumps-physical-exam-inadvertently-sparks-girther-movement/) who cast doubt on Trump’s official height and weight. The president’s [proportions](http://www.slate.com/blogs/the%5Fslatest/2016/09/15/how%5Ftall%5Fis%5Fdonald%5Ftrump%5Freally.html) have been the source of speculation before. Trump widely describes himself as [6’3″ tall](https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/politics/letter-from-donald-trumps-doctor-on-his-latest-physical-exam/2091/?tid=a%5Finl), but his [driver’s license lists him at 6’2″](https://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/trump-drivers-license-height-232948), Politico reported in 2016\. That extra inch would define him as “overweight” instead of [“obese” according to the Body Mass Index](http://time.com/5104183/donald-trump-health-ronny-jackson/), one girther claimed. Doubters took to Twitter to express their suspicion of Trump’s dimensions. > [](https://twitter.com/chrislhayes/status/953379719843602432) > [](https://twitter.com/GershKuntzman/status/953382607496114177) Other users compared the President’s height to other public figures and [similarly proportioned athletes](https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2018/01/16/donald-trump-height-weight-tim-tebow-mike-trout?utm%5Fcampaign=sinow&utm%5Fsource=twitter.com&utm%5Fmedium=social&xid=socialflow%5Ftwitter%5Fsi) to doubt the measurements. > [](https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/953455341236207617) > [](https://twitter.com/SpinDr/status/953380182299045888) > [](https://twitter.com/DennisPerkins5/status/953384478394732544) > [](https://twitter.com/nanci%5Fwissler/status/953459567546920960) Girthers: President Trump's Medical Exam Spawns Doubters ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5107274/president-trump-medical-exam-girther/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5107274/president-trump-medical-exam-girther/"},"headline":"President Trump's Medical Exam Is Spawning a Conspiracy Movement of 'Girther' Naysayers","datePublished":"2018-01-18T03:09:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:49:50.463Z","description":"A conspiracy movement is trying to cast doubt on Trump's official height and weight","url":"https://time.com/5107274/president-trump-medical-exam-girther/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","Obesity","Donald Trump","Exercise & Fitness","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe7b5779c8a7b5a9/6988f896096a9445306a1239/gettyimages-885715374.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eli Meixler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eli/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe7b5779c8a7b5a9/6988f896096a9445306a1239/gettyimages-885715374.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump Returns To The White House","caption":"President Trump Returns To The White House","creditText":"Chris Kleponis—Pool/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5107274/president-trump-medical-exam-girther/","name":"President Trump's Medical Exam Is Spawning a Conspiracy Movement of 'Girther' Naysayers"}}]}] ```