{"id":1289,"date":"2026-01-02T11:08:29","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T16:08:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbump.net\/o\/?p=1289"},"modified":"2026-01-02T11:08:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T16:08:29","slug":"when-were-trumps-three-cognitive-tests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbump.net\/o\/when-were-trumps-three-cognitive-tests\/","title":{"rendered":"When were Trump’s three cognitive tests?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The report on President Trump’s health published by the Wall Street Journal<\/a> on Thursday was not particularly reassuring. The president has shown increasing signs of aging, the Journal’s reporters noted \u2014\u00a0unsurprising given that he’s the oldest person ever to have been inaugurated to the position. He continues to eat poorly and to adhere primarily to his own medical advice, a dubious approach for someone coming up on his 80th birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, of course, Trump spun the report on Friday morning as a complete exoneration of any concerns. On the social media platform he owns he wrote that his doctors had asserted that he is in “perfect health” \u2014\u00a0an assertion made in the article not by his doctors but by Trump himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trump also asserted that his mental acuity has been tested three times, and that he “ACED” the questions the cognitive exam posed. Rather than providing reassurance, though, one might wonder: Why is Trump’s mental fitness being tested so often?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer to that question will probably be unsatisfying for both Trump supporters and Trump critics. He isn’t being tested for cognitive impairment particularly frequently; he’s just talking about old tests a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a timeline of the three reported tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

January 12, 2018<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first exam was conducted during his first term in office, back when his personal physician was still Dr. Ronny Jackson. During a press conference<\/a>, Jackson informed reporters that Trump had been given an annual physical and, while delineating the elements of the examination, noted that Trump’s cognition had been screened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“A cognitive screening exam using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment was normal, with a score of 30 over 30.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This is not atypical, given that Trump was already in his 70s at the time. What was unusual was that Trump seized on this test as being evidence of his cognitive superiority \u2014 which, as I’ve written<\/a>, is a bit like bragging about your superhuman physicality because your covid test was negative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sept. 13, 2023<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The next cognitive exam was conducted during the Biden administration, after Trump had already declared his intention to seek reelection to the presidency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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pic.twitter.com\/ibBepwOC2e<\/a><\/p>— Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung) November 20, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>