You probably remember Ronny Jackson.
He's the White House physician who came out in January
and said that Trump has the strength
of a hippo and the body to match.
You remember that? Right.
Well, he said that Trump was incredibly healthy,
which shocked everybody.
Like, even God was in the front row like, "the (bleep)?"
Well, anyway, we didn't know much about him back then,
and we didn't need to.
But once Trump nominated Jackson for a cabinet position,
people started digging into his past
like he was dating Taylor Swift.
We've got some breaking news on that story we started with.
New and potentially damaging allegations
against Ronny Jackson.
The White House physician nominated to lead
the Department of Veterans Affairs provided a large supply
of Percocet, a prescription opioid,
to a White House military office staff member.
A nurse on his staff said Dr. Jackson
had written himself prescriptions.
The word is is that on overseas trips, in particular,
that the admiral would go down the aisleway of the airplane
and say, "All right, who wants to go to sleep?”
-And hand out the prescription drugs -So you're talking
-like they were candy. -about something like Ambien,
-like an Ambien type. -Yeah, that's exactly right.
He hands out prescriptions like candy.
In fact, in the White House, they call him "the candy man.”
The White House physician was being fast and loose
with prescription drugs, which is really dangerous.
I mean, can you imagine if Ben Carson was on that plane
and he took a sleeping pill?
He would be waking up like,
(mimics Carson): "Did... we... land... yet?
What... time... is... it?"
(normal voice): It'd be like, "Sir, it's the year 2045."
Now look, now look, to be fair, to be fair,
giving sleeping pills to staff on overseas flights
is apparently kind of standard practice
in many administrations.
Plus, I mean, what, like, what would you rather do,
get some sleep or stay up and watch Trump lick KFC
off his fingers for 14 hours?
I think we know which one you'd choose.
But distributing drugs
like he was the Stringer Bell of Air Force One
is just the beginning of Ronny Jackson's story.
Sources telling CNN the White House doctor
allegedly became intoxicated
during multiple overseas trips on duty,
including one in 2015,
where sources say he banged on the hotel room door
of a female employee in the middle of the night.
According to this memo,
at a Secret Service going-away party,
Jackson got drunk
and wrecked a government vehicle.
Okay, this is just shocking.
No, I-I can't believe
that between Trump's two doctors,
Ronny Jackson is the one who might have a drinking problem.
(laughter and applause)
I mean, I guess it makes sense.
Alcohol could explain the glowing bill of health
that he gave Trump a few months ago
when he was like, "Donald Trump is the healthiest man alive.
"He's six-foot-three, 160 pounds,
"and there's two of him standing in front of me.
I love them both. I love you so much, man."
And so with these allegations piling up,
politicians of both parties
are hoping that Trump will reconsider his pick.
What was being discussed last night here on CNN
was truly concerning about the possibility
that Dr. Jackson had been drunk on duty.
The allegations that have come out
against Admiral Jackson are very disturbing.
Probably makes sense for the president
to spend a little bit more time
doing research on his own nominees.
It would give us serious cause for concern
as to whether or not he'd be the right man for the job.
Man, these lawmakers are not messing around.
Although it is funny
how they don't want Jackson running Veterans Affairs,
but they don't care if he stays on
as the president's physician.
It's like, "This drunk maniac doesn't belong near our heroes.
He belongs at the White House next to Donald Trump."
Now, look, this may surprise you,
but Trump doesn't seem to mind Ronny Jackson's shady past.
If anything, in Trump's eyes,
Dr. Ronny is the victim.
I said to Dr. Jackson, "What do you need it for?"
So, I don't want to put a man through a process like this.
It's too ugly and too disgusting.
And he has to listen to the abuse that he has to...
I wouldn't-- if I were him...
Actually, in many ways, I'd love to be him.
But the fact is I wouldn't do it.
I wouldn't do it.
What?
In many ways, you'd love to be him?
Like, I-I don't understand what that means.
Is Trump saying he wishes he weren't the president?
Or is he... Is it just, like, Trump wishing
that he were his own doctor?
He's just like, "He's so lucky.
"He gets to see me naked all the time, folks.
"Do you know how nice it would be
"if I could see my dick?
So beautiful. So beautiful."
(cheering and applause)
But believe it or not, the administration
was still pushing Dr. Jackson's nomination forward,
and Kellyanne Conway even brought up
a surprise character witness.
The White House defiant
and defending Ronny Jackson's nomination
to lead the V.A.,
pointing to praise from former president Obama
and pushing back on accusations against Jackson.
I hope you're aware of the great referral for Ronny Jackson.
"Continue to groom and promote this highly capable officer,
"a, quote, exceptional physician and leader.
Ronny has been a dedicated and valued member of my team."
This came from President Barack Obama.
2014, 2016.
Oh, now you want us to trust Obama?
No, Kellyanne, no.
Too late. That Kenyan invented ISIS.
You can't have it both ways.
Nuh-uh.
Okay, fine, fine. Let's play Kellyanne's game.
Yes, it's true. Obama praised Ronny Jackson
and suggested that he be promoted,
but he never said
Jackson should be promoted to run the V.A.
That's an enormous government bureaucracy
with 360,000 employees.
You can't take that one recommendation
and move it to something else.
That's like looking great in a bathrobe,
and someone makes you the new pope.
That's not how it works.
Because don't forget, don't forget,
even if he didn't drink,
even if he didn't drive drunk,
and even if he didn't overprescribe drugs,
Ronny Jackson would still be far from qualified to run the V.A.
And in a way, all those senators who oppose him are lucky
that these drug and alcohol allegations are coming out.
Because if there's one thing we know, it's that on its own,
being completely unqualified for a position
doesn't keep you out of Donald Trump's cabinet.
If anything, it gets you in.
As far as experience is concerned,
the Veterans Administration,
which is approximately 13 million people, is so big,
you could run the biggest hospital system in the world,
and it's small-time compared to the Veterans Administration.
So nobody has the experience.
(laughter)
Donald Trump is like logic kryptonite.
(laughter)
Because no one has this exact experience.
So in his mind, it doesn't matter
if we just hired a seasoned professional
or a toaster oven?
And look, I get that no one has run
an organization as big as the V.A.,
but you can still try giving it
to someone with some relevant experience.
Like, at one point in time, no one had been to space.
But NASA didn't go, "Hey, why don't we just send Jerry?
Jerry's my dentist. Fantastic guy."
No. They sent astronauts who trained for it,
who previously flew planes, who studied space,
who worked countless hours
making black ladies do math for them.
(laughter)
And look, look...
-(cheering and applause) -at the end of the day...
...at the end of the day, we know where this is headed.
The president will have to find a new V.A. nominee,
and knowing Trump, he's not going to search
for a qualified person.
He's just gonna pick another guy who says nice things about him.
So I guess what I'm saying is,
congratulations, V.A. Secretary Kanye West.