Overview
- At a White House small-business event, President Trump again claimed he has taken three cognitive exams and aced them, describing animal-identification questions and telling attendees many people could not pass the hardest items.
- Reprising his push to require such exams for presidential and vice-presidential hopefuls, he argued that voters could otherwise be stuck with a leader who is a moron.
- Surveys now show a marked slide in public confidence, with Pew reporting a drop in those calling him mentally sharp from 55% in November 2024 to 44%, and a Washington Post poll finding 59% do not believe he has the needed mental acuity.
- Ziad Nasreddine, who created the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, said the test is a 10-minute screen for signs of impairment rather than an IQ or fitness exam, noting the average score is 26 out of 30 and about one in ten people Trump’s age get a perfect score.
- Media analysts say the constant boasting is not reassuring the public, and reporters noted the same remarks included clear factual errors about the length of past wars and a claimed Iran campaign timeline.