Trump says he ‘aced’ a third cognitive exam taken recently
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US President Donald Trump shared the results in a post shortly after he spoke at a rally in Pennsylvania.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump said he had recently “aced” a third cognitive exam as he looked to bat down questions about his age and acuity.
Mr Trump, in a social media post on Dec 9, said that in addition to a battery of “long, thorough, and very boring Medical Examinations” he had “on three separate occasions, the last one being recently” taken a cognitive examination.
“I ACED all three of them in front of large numbers of doctors and experts, most of whom I do not know,” Mr Trump said.
“I have been told that few people have been able to ‘ace’ this examination and, in fact, most do very poorly, which is why many other Presidents have decided not to take it at all.”
The 79-year-old president said he was sharing the results after what he described as inaccurate reports in the New York Times pointing out that his public schedule has been more limited than during his first term, and instances where he closed his eyes for long stretches during meetings.
“I actually believe it’s seditious, perhaps even treasonous, for The New York Times, and others, to consistently do FAKE reports in order to libel and demean,” Mr Trump said in the post, which appeared shortly after he spoke at a rally in Pennsylvania.
In Mr Trump’s first term, he was given the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and told reporters he had earned a perfect score.
The exam, which is used to screen for cognitive impairment, asks participants to draw a clock, copy a picture of a cube, and repeat a string of words.
“It’s like you’ll go: Person, woman, man, camera, TV. So they say, ‘Could you repeat that?’ So I said, ‘Yeah. So it’s person, woman, man, camera, TV.’ ‘Okay, that’s very good. If you get it in order, you get extra points.’” Mr Trump told Fox News at the time.
Mr Trump’s predecessor, former US President Joe Biden, faced persistent questions about his health during his presidency and was ultimately forced to drop his re-election campaign after a disastrous debate performance against Mr Trump.
