Political Tribune

Donald Trump, Opinion, Politics, Social Media

A Newly Surfaced Photo Of Trump Alongside John Thune Has Reignited The Online Debate Over Trump’s Actual Height

An inch too far

604
604 points

On paper, the height difference between Donald Trump and John Thune is almost nonexistent. Trump is officially listed at 6 feet 3 inches, while Thune stands at 6 feet 4 inches. But when the two men appeared together at the Capitol on Wednesday, a photograph by Kevin Dietsch left many questioning whether those numbers add up.

The image captured them walking side by side on flat ground, and what it showed was Thune’s eye-level landing near the top of Trump’s trademark hairstyle rather than a single inch above it. The White House’s official measurements were, to put it charitably, difficult to reconcile with what viewers were seeing.


The height question has a paper trail that predates Wednesday’s photograph.

Back in 2012, Trump’s New York driver’s license listed him at 6-foot-2, and by the time he entered the White House, official medical reports had quietly upgraded him to 6-foot-3, an extra inch that conveniently kept him just inside the Body Mass Index threshold that avoids the obese classification.

Prince William, also widely reported to be 6-foot-3, appeared noticeably taller at the Notre-Dame reopening in December 2024, and photos from Trump’s China visit in May showed a similar dynamic next to President Xi Jinping.

The weight figures have followed a similar trajectory.

MS NOW recently placed a photo of Trump, listed at 238 pounds, alongside Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf at 229 pounds and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold at 225 pounds, and the visual comparison left the official figures looking considerably less credible than before.

Pollster Cornell Belcher connected all of it to something considerably larger than a number on a medical form. “The real problem is that he built so much of his brand around hypermasculinity and being a tough guy, and so much of that MAGA cult-like behavior is about his brand of being a strongman,” Belcher told the MS NOW panel. “But, and this is where it gets really problematic, because it begins to crumble when he’s falling asleep, when he can’t string together a sentence, when he clearly has visible signs of being 80.”

Featured image via X screengrab 

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Terry Lawson

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Terry is an editor and political writer based in Alabama. Over the last five years, he’s worked behind the scenes as a ghostwriter for a range of companies, helping shape voices and tell stories that connect. Now at Political Tribune, he writes sharp political pieces and edits with a close eye on clarity and tone. Terry’s work is driven by strong storytelling, attention to detail, and a clear sense of purpose. He’s skilled in writing, editing, and project management — and always focused on getting the message right. You can find him on X at https://x.com/TerryNotTrump.

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