It’s been six years since Donald Trump took a cognitive exam, and it’s unsettling to see the former president continue to brag about the results. But as NBC News reported over the weekend, the fact that the Republican flubbed the name of his former physician put an unfortunate twist on the broader story.
Former President Donald Trump on Saturday confused the name of his former White House physician just moments after he said President Joe Biden should take a cognitive test. The mix-up happened as Trump bragged that he had “aced” a cognitive test.
At an event in Michigan, the presumptive GOP nominee initially claimed that Biden doesn’t know the meaning of the word “inflation.” That was, to be sure, an odd line of attack given that Trump appears eager to respond to inflation with a plan that would make the problem worse, not better.
But the former president didn’t stop there.
“I took a cognitive test, and I aced it,” Trump boasted. “Doc Ronny Johnson. Does everyone know Ronny Johnson, congressman from Texas? He was the White House doctor, and he said I was the healthiest president, he feels, in history, so I liked him very much indeed immediately.”
He was referring, of course, to Ronny Jackson — his former doctor, former cabinet secretary nominee, and close political ally. In other words, the former president, while boasting about his cognitive abilities, flubbed his former physician’s name.
In case anyone needs a refresher, in early 2018, Trump had an annual physical, which according to his then-physician, included the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), which led his doctor to conclude that Trump has no cognitive or mental deficiencies. The trouble, of course, was that the Republican celebrated — and continues to celebrate — the results in such a way that suggested he didn’t fully appreciate what the test was all about.
“If you look at the test, it’s pretty hard to see how you could not score a 30 [out of 30],” a Washington Post piece explained in early 2018, adding, “Yes, Trump passed with flying colors, as any adult with normal cognitive function probably would.”
We’re talking about an exam that’s used to identify evidence of dementia, mental deterioration, and neurodegenerative diseases. Those who take it may be asked, for example, to draw a clock or describe the similarities between oranges and bananas.
Trump somehow convinced himself, however, that it’s akin to a Mensa exam, and his ability to get a perfect score is proof of his genius.
It’s not. While the precise wording of different MoCA tests can vary, and the final questions are marginally more difficult, one sample test included among the final questions asked respondents to name words that begin with the letter F — with the expectation that people could list at least 11 in a minute. Another final question asked respondents to recite a three-digit number backwards.
Nevertheless, more than six years later, Trump is still preoccupied with his ability to pass an exam he later claimed included “difficult” questions.
Stepping back, I can appreciate why the former president is a little defensive on the issue. In 2017, Trump seemed so unhinged that the Washington Post’s Dana Milbank questioned whether the Republican was “barking mad.” In 2018, a reporter felt compelled to ask during a White House press briefing, “Should Americans be concerned about the president’s mental fitness?”
Those questions intensified in the years that followed. In fact, after the former president’s bizarre recent rant about boats, batteries, and sharks, the headline on Eugene Robinson’s column read, “Is Donald Trump okay?”
After the Republican flubbed Jackson’s name, while bragging about his cognitive abilities, it’s tough to blame observers for continuing to ask the question.