Donald Trump on Saturday touted his mental acuity in a winding debate filled with digressions, raising questions about his memory of a cognitive test taken nearly four years ago.
In a campaign speech in Las Vegas, Trump revealed that he recently “passed” another cognitive test as part of his annual physical. During his appearance, President Trump also called on all presidential and vice presidential candidates to take cognitive and aptitude tests.
During a discussion about cognitive ability that took place about 20 minutes into the hour-and-a-half meeting, President Trump complained that it was an ignored but important part of the test he took during his presidency. He elaborated on what he said. Trump said he was able to solve math problems quickly. Although he did so at the time, it is notable that he did not provide an answer in telling the anecdote afterwards.
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Trump recalled that before the exam, then-White House physician Ronnie Jackson told him that the first part of the “rigorous” exam would be “easy.” He said he was first given “lines” with “lions, giraffes, whales and sharks” drawn on them.
“That's the only question the press covered. That's the first question. They didn't cover the last question,” Trump told the audience.
That “last question,” he said, required solving a mathematical equation without paper or pencil. President Trump said he was asked to multiply 4,733 by 7, divide the product by 4, and add 37.5 to the quotient.
“What's your number? How many people in this room can do that? Not too many,” he said, and the crowd listened quietly, waiting for an answer.
But Trump did not offer the 8,320.25 figure.
President Trump appears to be reciting words different from those he listed in a 2020 interview
In his speech in Las Vegas, the former president appeared to list words that were different from those he was given on an exam he took while president nearly four years ago.
In a July 2020 interview, President Trump said he was given the words “people, women, men, cameras, television.” On Saturday, he said he had been given six “names” and listed chairs, hats, badges, necklaces and votes — just five words.
He said he was then asked to “change your name” during the exam and asked again 30 minutes later.
“They say, 'What were those six?'” Trump said. “It was so easy. But they made fun of me. They said it was so easy. It's not easy. . It's not easy. Go home and try it.”
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Shortly after starting her campaign a year ago, Trump boasted about her cognitive abilities under the microscope of her previous rival, Nikki Haley, who called for testing of presidential candidates over 75.
In her concession speech in New Hampshire on January 23, Haley said that the party that first “retires” its aging presidential candidates will win the White House.
“Mr. Trump claims he will do better than me on these tests. He may or may not,” Haley said, echoing calls for competency testing for older politicians. He repeatedly seduced Trump. “But if he feels that way, he should have no problem joining me on the debate stage.”
President Joe Biden, the first octogenarian president of the United States, has received unwanted criticism for his gaffes.
Last week, a short clip of the president stumbling over his words during a speech in Wisconsin went viral. In North Carolina, he briefly mistakenly said he had been photographed with a congressman, then later corrected himself and said that Congresswoman Deborah Ross was actually back in Washington.
But Trump has also recorded a series of gaffes that have led his critics to question his mental fitness to be president. And Mr. Trump has so often mocked Mr. Biden that he is now drawing harsh attention to his own missteps.
President Trump calls on all presidential and vice presidential candidates to take a cognitive test
President Trump's discussion of cognitive testing took place during a meandering 10-minute section of his speech in Las Vegas.
Trump first teased Biden again with a slapstick routine in which he imitated a confused president who tried to leave the stage after a speech. As the audience laughed, Trump walked behind the podium and stood facing the backdrop.
Speaking into the microphone again, Trump made a series of digressions, briefly mentioning that he has effectively negotiated with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and is on good terms with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. He warned that “World War III is very close” and that conflicts in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip could have been prevented.
He also lamented rising inflation and the fact that oil prices reached $110 at one point and then “the border was perfect.” Before returning to his cognitive function test, Trump said his uncle, John Trump, was “the longest-serving professor in the history of MIT.”
Trump ended his portion of his speech by demanding that those running for president take a cognitive test, saying, “I think that's really important.”
He also complained that he was lumped in with older US leaders who are in their 80s, noting that he is only 77 years old.
“I'm telling you, I feel more alert now than I was 20 years ago. I really do. I don't know. I'm probably lying.”
He then requested a cognitive function test.
“That will be my job,” he said. “But I think every person running for president and vice president should take a cognitive test, folks.”
Antonio Fins is the politics and business editor for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. Please contact us at afins@pbpost.com. Please support our journalism.Subscribe now.
