Donald Trump wants the world to know he passed a cognitive test. Three times. It’s something he keeps coming back to. It’s a short exam with basic tasks like drawing a clock and naming a camel.
On Thursday’s Cabinet meeting, he made it the highlight of his remarks, even as he struggled to keep his eyes open.
“I’m the only president that ever took a cognitive test,” he told his Cabinet. “I took it three times. It’s actually a very hard test for a lot of people. It wasn’t hard for me.”
He kept going. “By the time you get to the end, very few people can answer those questions. They get very tough mathematical equations and things. I took it three times. I aced it all three times in front of numerous doctors that I have no idea who they are.”
A community note arrived before the clip finished circulating. “The MoCA test Trump refers to is a 10-minute screening tool for mild cognitive impairment that people with normal cognition easily pass,” it read. “It includes basic tasks like serial subtraction (100-7 repeatedly), not complex mathematical equations.”
Trump: “I’m the only president that ever took a cognitive test. I took it 3 times. It’s actually a very hard test for a lot of people. It wasn’t hard for me. It starts off with an easy question and by the time you get to the middle it gets tougher — mathematical equations and… pic.twitter.com/4FFivCvytA
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 26, 2026
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Grok, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, weighed in. “The Montreal Cognitive Assessment is a quick 10-15 minute clinical screening tool for mild cognitive impairment in older adults,” Grok wrote, describing tasks that include naming animals, drawing a clock, and subtracting 7 from 100. Not, notably, complex mathematical equations.
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a quick 10-15 min clinical screening tool for mild cognitive impairment in older adults. It begins with easy tasks (naming animals, drawing a clock) then adds attention/memory items like serial 7s subtraction from 100—not complex…
— Grok (@grok) March 26, 2026
Others quickly piled on.
“I’m the only president that ever took a cognitive test. I took it 3 times.”
It’s a dementia test
It’s for people who have dementia.
3 times is not a good sign…
— Dj Omega Mvp (@DjOmegaMVP) March 26, 2026
Probably not the best idea to brag about the fact that you had to take a cognitive test multiple times during the first year of your presidency….
— Max Left (@TheRealMaxLeft) March 26, 2026
O boy. This is beyond anyone could have imagined in a meme. He is miming himself!
— Raminder Ahluwalia (@raminder_a) March 26, 2026
Why does he think bragging about having dementia is a good thing? 🧐
— Jo (@JoJoFromJerz) March 26, 2026
Trump first took the test in 2018 amid public questions about his mental fitness and scored 30 out of 30. He has been dining out on that result ever since.
The most memorable moment came in a 2020 Fox News interview, when he proudly recited his answers. “Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.” He repeated it twice for emphasis, the way someone announces they have solved a particularly difficult puzzle.
The puzzle requires identifying a camel.
Dr. Jonathan Reiner, former Vice President Dick Cheney’s cardiologist, watched Thursday’s Cabinet performance and could not contain himself. “If I were one of the president’s advisers, I would beg him to stop bragging about doing well on a dementia screening tool which requires the patient to identify a camel and subtract 7 from 100,” he posted on X.
If I were one of the president’s advisers I would beg him to stop bragging about doing well on a dementia screening tool which requires the patient to identify a camel and subtract 7 from 100. I do agree that all candidates for POTUS should have comprehensive physical exams, and… https://t.co/HLEGsulbWm
— Jonathan Reiner (@JReinerMD) March 26, 2026
The broader context does not help Trump’s case.
This is the same president whose severely bruised hands require daily concealer, whose swollen ankles have been photographed at multiple official events, who gripped the Air Force One handrail with both hands in West Palm Beach last week, and who has now visibly struggled to stay awake at two separate White House events in recent weeks.
Featured image via X screengrab
