‘Girther Movement’ Is Back With a Vengeance After Trump Reports Weight at 215 Pounds, Bookies Left To Pay Out on Two Fronts

‘This is the easiest money you will ever make on a wager and I would literally bet my house on it,’ one handicapper writes. ‘Donald Trump is closer to 378 than he is 278.’

AP/Seth Wenig
President Trump greets supporters during the final round of the Bedminster Invitational LIV Golf tournament at Bedminster, New Jersey, August 13, 2023. AP/Seth Wenig

Ahead of President Trump’s booking at the Fulton County jail on Thursday, bettors were placing wagers on the former president’s weight. After he self-reported a weight on par with elite athletes of his height, the bookies are paying out on two fronts, while those doubtful of the weight — so-called girthers — mock the number online.

A spokesman for BetOnline.ag, the most prominent site taking bets on the former president’s weight, issued a tweet following the booking, letting bettors know what would be happening.

“Trump’s weight is 215 lbs (allegedly). Under bettors will be paid — congrats,” spokesman Dave Mason said in a tweet. “However, we feel Trump’s scale was faulty or perhaps there was a typo. So Over bets will be refunded.”

Given the unusual results of Mr. Trump’s weigh-in, the refunds will have to be done manually, according to Mr. Mason. Ahead of the booking, the site had been taking over/under-style bets with the cutoff at 278.5 pounds.

A handicapper at the site, Adam Greene, wrote before the weigh-in, “I really wished someone would have discussed this over/under with me before coming up with it,” adding, “I encounter a lot of obese people in my time and I’m here to tell you, this O/U is WAY TOO LOW.”

“There is no way that Trump is not over three bills. None,” Mr. Greene wrote. “This is the easiest money you will ever make on a wager and I would literally bet my house on it. Donald Trump is closer to 378 than he is 278.”

While president, Mr. Trump was announced as weighing 239 pounds and standing 6 feet, 3 inches, though some — including Mr. Greene — called into question the legitimacy of that weigh-in as well.

The former White House physician, Ronny Jackson, now a congressman, is suspected of stretching — or shrinking — the truth of Mr. Trump’s weight during his presidency, both by Mr. Greene and members of the “girther movement.” 

Dr. Jackson’s glowing bill of health for Mr. Trump included lavish compliments, saying he had “incredible genes,” “excellent” overall health and cardiac health, and was “just the way God made him.”

“I told the President that if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years he might live to be 200 years old,” Dr. Jackson told reporters at the time.

Mr. Greene called the report “an outright lie,” saying that Dr. Jackson “fibbed out of his Oxycontin hole that Trump, after his presidential physical, was ‘6-3 and 239 pounds.’”

The phrase “Oxycontin hole” refers to allegations, which Dr. Jackson denied, that he provided prescription drugs like Ambien and Provigil under the table to White House staff during his tenure as the president’s physician. A letter from Senator Tester from 2018  details the concerns about Dr. Jackson.

Dr. Jackson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Sun.

Mr. Greene went on to compare Mr. Trump to elite athletes, like a Seattle Seahawks safety, Kam Chancellor, and a Los Angeles Angels center fielder, Mike Trout, who are also 6 feet, 3 inches and in the ballpark of 230 to 240 pounds.

Mr. Trump’s new claim that he weighs 215 pounds has drawn comparisons to other elite athletes as well. For example, users on the platform formerly known as Twitter are comparing the physique of the former president to the quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens, Lamar Jackson, who supposedly weighs the same amount.

Other athletes who reportedly weighed about as much as Mr. Trump while competing include a future Hall of Fame quarterback, Tom Brady, and a legendary boxer, Muhammad Ali.


The New York Sun

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