President Trump Bragged About Acing a Cognitive Test That Involved Identifying Animals

Questions surrounding President Trump's mental acuity are not new. Back in January 2018, the president was a little more than a year into his first term when he dropped a slew of concerning posts on X (formerly Twitter). It seems impossible to imagine now, but at the time, these posts were considered pretty alarming.

In his social media post, Trump suggested that after "one year of intense study," the collusion with Russia was proven to be a hoax. Despite that, the "Democrats and their lapdogs, the Fake News Mainstream Media, are taking out the old Ronald Reagan playbook and screaming mental stability and intelligence." This is also when the president claimed to be a "very stable genius." More than seven years later, he was subjected to another cognitive test. Here's what we know.

While traveling on Air Force One, Trump was asked by reporters about a possible third term, reports The New Republic. After saying he would love to do it, the president proceeded to go on a bizarre rant that involved accusing Representatives Jasmine Crockett and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of being "low-IQ" individuals.

AOC and Jasmine were mentioned because Trump was naming people from the Democratic party he thought would make a run for the presidency in 2028. The president mentioned that AOC should take an IQ test first. "Have her pass the exams that I decided to take when I was at Walter Reed," he said, adding that they were very hard.

President Trump went on to say these were aptitude tests, "in a certain way," before saying they were cognitive tests. He challenged Jasmine and AOC to "go against Trump." Yes, he used the third person. "The first couple of questions are easy, a tiger, an elephant, a giraffe, you know," said Trump. He was confident that if Jasmine and AOC made it to 10, 20, or 25, they would fail. It's unclear what he meant.

In July 2020, The New York Times reported that the then-74-year-old Trump had taken yet another cognitive test. He was urging former President Joe Biden to do the same. "I took it at Walter Reed Medical Center in front of doctors," said Trump, "and they were very surprised." He went on to say the doctors told him, "Rarely does anybody do what you just did."

In 2018, "the White House physician at the time, Dr. Ronny L. Jackson, said that the president had received a score of 30 out of 30 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a test that hospitals including Walter Reed use to screen for 'mild cognitive dysfunction,' and that there was 'no reason whatsoever to think the president has any issues whatsoever with his thought processes.'"

Regarding President Trump's medical history, there has always been a bit of a battle regarding transparency. That changed in April 2025 when full results from his annual physical were released to the public. He once again scored a 30 out of 30 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. The White House physician concluded the president "remains in excellent health, exhibiting robust cardio, pulmonary, neurological, and general physical function."