- President Donald Trump told Fox News in a new interview that he “aced” a recent cognitive test.
- Trump said Fox News’ Chris Wallace and the presidential candidate Joe Biden would not be able to answer some of the questions.
- The test was most likely the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, which measures cognitive function and helps diagnose illnesses.
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The Fox News host Chris Wallace questioned President Donald Trump about his cognitive abilities, saying he had taken the same test that Trump boasted of having “aced.”
Chris Wallace on the mental acuity test that Trump brags about acing: “It's not – well it's not that hardest test. They have a picture and it says “what’s that” and it’s an elephant."
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) July 19, 2020
Trump told Wallace in a new interview, which aired Sunday, that the questions got more difficult as the test went on. He went on to suggest Wallace “couldn’t answer many of the questions.”
When Trump asked how Wallace did on the test, Wallace said: “Well, it’s not the hardest test. They have a picture and it says ‘what’s that’ and it’s an elephant.”
"You see, that's all misrepresentation," Trump said, and Wallace responded, "Well, that's what it was on the web."
"It's all misrepresentation," Trump said. "Because, yes, the first few questions are easy, but I'll bet you couldn't even answer the last five questions. I'll bet you couldn't, they get very hard, the last five questions."
"Well, one of them was count back from 100 by seven," Wallace said back.
The Washington Post reporter Seung Min Kim posted a transcript of the exchange.
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) July 19, 2020
On Twitter, many doctors and experts weighed in, suggesting that the test was most likely the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, which is used to screen patients for cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. The test, which takes about 10 minutes, requires patients to identify pictures, draw a clock, and complete some memory exercises, as described by The Washington Post.
Docs don't give a cognitive test to measure intellect. We give it to assess cognitive defects. Trump calling questions on this test difficult should raise some red flags about dementia and inability to serve. pic.twitter.com/4cAmhC5Zpu
— Ankur Dave, MD (@AnkurDaveMD) July 19, 2020
Fox News displayed a variation of the test during the segment.
In the same interview with Wallace, Trump challenged Biden to take the test.
"Let's take a test right now. Let's go down, Joe and I will take a test. Let him take the same test that I took," he said. In June, Biden said he was "constantly tested."
