Representative Ronny Jackson, a Texas Republican who previously served as the White House doctor during the Trump administration, rebuked the Biden administration's comparison of him to Dr. Nick, a character from The Simpsons.
In response to a Fox News Digital reporter's inquiry about Jackson's call for Biden to take a cognitive test, White House spokesman Andrew Bates responded with, "Hi Dr. Nick," a mocking reference to Simpsons character Dr. Nick, a questionable physician with credentials from equally questionable medical institutions, along with a photo of the character.
Appearing on Fox News' The Ingraham Angle, Jackson addressed the White House's statement implying that he lacked credibility, particularly in regard to his previous role in conducting cognitive tests for former President Donald Trump.
He said:
“That’s absolutely ridiculous. Laura, I was at the White House, I was a White House physician for 14 years. I took care of President Bush for three years, I took care of President Obama for eight years and I took care of President Trump for three years."
"So I was there for 14 years for three different administrations, including eight years in the Obama administration, which I was the appointed physician to the president, for Obama.”
“Most of these people, a lot of these people in the West Wing right now with Joe Biden, I took care of them. So for them to make that claim is ridiculous. It doesn’t surprise me that they spend all their time watching ‘The Simpsons.’”
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Jackson has been a largely controversial figure since his days as the White House doctor.
During a January 2018 press briefing, Jackson vouched for Trump's health, saying his neurological functions are excellent and assuring the press corps he would be able to serve his entire term.
Jackson was widely mocked after adding Trump likely had "incredible genes" that allowed him to remain healthy despite a lack of exercise and a taste for fast food.
Jackson leveraged his time as Trump's doctor into a successful run for Congress, representing Texas' 13th district. Since then, he has been criticized for trying to make hay out of verbal stumbles by President Biden but ignoring Trump's long history of memory flubs, social gaffes, off-the-cuff and disordered style of speaking, and consistently erratic—even confused—behavior.
In the end, many people online had the same response to the White House's trolling of Jackson: offended...on behalf of Dr. Nick.
Trump has in the past referred to himself as a "perfect physical specimen," offering yet another example of his braggadocio when it comes to his health and physical prowess.
He once declared during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that Jackson "loved looking at my body." He claimed Jackson told him he was "the healthiest President that ever lived" and Jackson noted his body was "so strong and powerful."
In December, he went so far as to assert that Jackson deemed him healthier than Barack Obama, his predecessor. Trump claimed Jackson said he was "the healthiest guy" and could live to be "200 years old," so long as he stops eating junk food.
Trump has claimed he is much healthier than Biden—even insisting that he excelled in a cognitive test. The test was actually the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), a widely used screening assessment for detecting cognitive impairment.
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