US Politics
Trump again boasts he ‘aced’ cognitive tests – and reveals which animals he was required to identify
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President Donald Trump once again boasted about having “aced” three cognitive tests in wide-ranging remarks.
As concerns around the 79-year-old president’s health and mental fitness continue to mount — particularly after his rambling speech earlier this week, apparently falling asleep at several events including a Cabinet meeting, and his controversial Truth Social post about late filmmaker Rob Reiner — Trump reminded a North Carolina crowd on Friday that he’s “aced” several cognitive exams and is in “perfect health.”
“I did something no other president’s ever done. I took cognitive tests because I know that and by the way, not easy,” Trump said in his Friday speech that was reportedly meant to focus on the economy.
He then took the opportunity to opine about how his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, would’ve performed on the mental fitness test: “You get to those last questions, those last 10, 15 questions…and I aced them. And no other president’s taken a cog–… Could you imagine sleepy Joe taking a cognitive test?”
The president then told the audience about the test, which apparently began with a question asking to identify animals.
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“The first question is like, ‘What is this?’ And they show a lion, a giraffe, a fish, and a hippopotamus. And they say, ‘Which is the giraffe?’” he recalled.
“I don’t think Joe would have gotten the first question right,” Trump said. “He would say hippo. ‘I want the hippo,’” the president continued, as his insults against his predecessor drew some laughs from the crowd.
“I’ve taken now three cognitive tests. I’ve aced every single one of them,” Trump claimed, pausing as the crowd erupted in applause and cheers.
During his first term in 2018, Trump earned a perfect score on his cognitive assessment, the White House physician said at the time; Trump later famously bragged about being able to recall five words: “person, woman, man, camera, TV.” In April, he took another mental fitness test, in which he said he “got every answer right.” During his physical exam in October, the president also took a cognitive test, which he “ACED,” he said in a Truth Social post this month.
“This is big stuff. This is at Walter Reed, I’ve got a whole team of doctors all over the place,” he told the crowd Friday.
Trump then recounted asking the doctors if he should take the mental fitness exam: “‘What do you think? Should I do it?’ They said, ‘Well here’s the good news. The good news is that if you do well that’s great…If you do well they won’t report it. If you do badly it’s going to be the biggest story in history.’”
After the October cognitive test, doctors found he was in “perfect health,” he told the North Carolina crowd. “And the fake news interprets when the doctor says ‘he’s got perfect health,’ they go, ‘What does he mean by perfect?’” He added: “These people are sick.”
Trump then admitted that his mental fitness won’t always be “100 percent.”
“There will be a time when perhaps I won’t be 100 percent,” he conceded. “When that time comes, I’ll let you know about it. In fact, you probably will find out about it just by watching. But that time is not now because I feel the same that I’ve felt for 50 years, I really do.”
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Despite Trump’s defense of his cognitive ability, several prominent figures have questioned his mental fitness.
“He’s sundowning hard,” California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office wrote in response to a clip of Trump’s Friday speech.
California Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu also wondered: “Why do doctors keep giving Trump cognitive tests?”
Trump sparked similar concerns recently after he appeared to nod off during several daytime events, including a Cabinet meeting, made a baseless claim that Rob Reiner died due to his “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” and his recent rambling 18-minute address to the nation from the White House on Wednesday.
Following Trump’s Wednesday remarks, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, the cardiologist for the late Vice President Dick Cheney told CNN that the president’s “manic cadence” was “very disturbing.” The doctor added: “We’ve never seen the president like that.”
