Trump says he recently "aced" a cognitive test, surprising doctors with his "unbelievable" performance
President Donald Trump said in an interview that he recently took a cognitive test and "aced it." He also challenged presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden to take one.
Mr. Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity on his show Thursday night that he underwent the exam at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He didn't specify which type of cognitive test he took.
"I actually took one, very recently, when I was – you know, the radical left was saying, 'Is he all there? Is he all there?'" he said. "And I proved I was all there, because I aced it. I aced the test."
He said the doctors were "very surprised" at the results.
"They said, 'that's an unbelievable thing, rarely does anybody do what you just did,'" Mr Trump added.
The president, who is 74, and Biden, who is 77, have both publicly challenged each other's mental fitness. Mr. Trump has suggested Biden didn't want to debate him and that the former vice president "couldn't pass" a cognitive test.
"He should take the same exact test, a very standard test, but he should take that same test," Mr. Trump said.
Last month, Biden was asked by a Fox News reporter about his own cognitive abilities and Biden said he was "constantly" being tested.
"I can hardly wait to compare my cognitive capability to that cognitive capability of the man I'm running against," Biden said on June 30.
The White House released a statement from the president's doctor on June 3 saying Mr. Trump's "periodic physical exam" showed he "remains healthy," with no significant changes since his previous checkup. The statement did not include any information about cognitive testing.
Mr. Trump's latest comments come more than two years after his last reported cognitive assessment test. In January 2018, the president took a test called the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), which is "a cognitive screening test designed to assist Health Professionals in the detection of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease," according to its website.
Sample questions from the exam include drawing the hands on a clock, naming pictures of animals and repeating a list of numbers forwards and backwards.. A score above 26 out of the 30 possible questions is considered normal. Mr. Trump scored 30 out of 30.
