Video footage of Donald Trump standing next to former NBA star Dennis Rodman has renewed questions about the president’s claimed height. Rodman, listed at 6-foot-7, appeared to tower over Trump, who has been listed as 6-foot-2 on a 2012 driver’s license and 6-foot-3 in White House medical reports. The clip, posted on X by White House adviser Margot Martin, follows earlier photos that similarly called Trump’s height claims into question.
Rodman Overshadows Trump: Side-by-Side Video Raises Questions About President’s Claimed Height
Trump claimed in August he was secretly negotiating with Kim Jong Un and planned to meet him later this year, only for Pyongyang to dismiss any talk of correspondence. / Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Donald Trump’s public appearance with former NBA star Dennis Rodman drew fresh attention after a video showed a pronounced height difference between the two men.
Rodman, 65, joined the presidential entourage as Trump, 80, spoke at a truck factory in Denton, Texas, before traveling to Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, Oklahoma, for a second rally. In remarks onstage, Trump praised Rodman for his past contacts with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying, "You know, when I wanted to get to know Kim Jong Un when we were having a problem—Kim Jong Un and I get along—but the one who knew him best was Dennis Rodman..."
A video shared on X by White House communications adviser Margot Martin shows the two men standing side-by-side. Rodman is commonly listed at 6-foot-7, while Trump has long claimed to be 6-foot-3. On camera, the expected four-inch difference looked larger: Trump appeared noticeably shorter and at times craned his neck upward to meet Rodman’s eye line.
Under the White House’s official measurements, Trump and Thune should be separated by just one inch in height. / SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images
In the clip, Trump called Rodman the "best rebounder in the history of basketball," and Rodman replied by pointing to the president and saying, "My friend, my friend." The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the footage.
Context And Past Discrepancies
This episode follows other visual comparisons that have cast doubt on Trump’s stated height. In June, photographs from the Capitol showed Senate Majority Leader John Thune—widely listed at 6-foot-4—appearing taller than Trump despite the president’s claimed one-inch disadvantage. Official records also vary: Trump’s 2012 New York driver’s license listed him at 6-foot-2, while his 2018 White House medical report and a later update listed him at 6-foot-3.
Observers noted the Rodman appearance comes as Trump seeks to rekindle ties with Kim Jong Un, an outreach first attempted during his prior term. Beyond the optics of height, the encounter drew attention because of Rodman’s controversial past visits to North Korea and his publicized relationship with the isolated leader.
What the video shows: a high-profile side-by-side that made a seemingly small discrepancy — a few inches — visually more pronounced, prompting renewed public curiosity about the president’s stated measurements and past official records.
Help us improve.
