Trump: Doctors Were ‘Very Surprised’ I ‘Aced’ Cognitive Test
Category: News & Politics
Via: tessylo • 4 years ago • 26 commentsBy: Justin Baragona, The Daily Beast
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
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Trump: Doctors Were ‘Very Surprised’ I ‘Aced’ Cognitive Test
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President Donald Trump boasted on Thursday night about a cognitive test he took during a Walter Reed physical, telling Fox News host Sean Hannity that doctors were “very surprised” that he “aced” it while calling on former Vice President Joe Biden to take the same test.
Calling in to close confidant Hannity’s primetime program, both the president and the Fox News star began openly questioning Biden’s mental fitness and suggesting he is suffering from cognitive decline.
After Hannity aired a montage of selectively edited clips to characterize Biden as senile, and Trump described the former vice president as “brainwashed,” the conservative host brought up Biden’s recent claim that he “can hardly wait” to test his cognitive capability against Trump’s.
“Now he apparently says that he has many cognitive tests,” Hannity said. “He’s tested all the time, cognitively. Maybe he’ll release those records and maybe he’ll release his medical records.”
Hannity wondered aloud if Biden has been trying to figure out a way to avoid debating the president, a recent right-wing talking point that has gained steam recently, prompting Trump to say “yes” before going on a tangent.
“But he meant the COVID tests. He didn’t mean cognitive. He meant COVID,” Trump declared.
After Hannity insisted Biden said “cognitive,” Trump continued to argue that the ex-veep meant coronavirus tests—Biden has said he hadn’t taken a COVID-19 test yet—but that Biden was “confused by the question and the words and everything else but he didn’t take a cognitive test because he couldn’t pass one.”
The president went on to say that he took a cognitive test “very recently” in order to prove to those questioning his mental acuity that he was “all there.” (It appears Trump is talking about the Montreal Cognitive Assessment he took during his 2018 physical exam , which he passed.)
“I proved I was all there because I aced it,” Trump bellowed. “I aced the test and he should take the same exact test. A very standard test.”
“I took it at Walter Reed, a medical center, in front of doctors, and they were very surprised,” he continued. “They said, that’s an unbelievable thing. Rarely does anybody do what you just did. But he should take that same test.”
The president would go on to say that Biden “has been totally taken over” and it’s “because he doesn’t understand what’s going on” before once again claiming that Biden “wants to get out of the debates.”
Last month, the Biden campaign announced that the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee would be participating in the three scheduled presidential debates this fall.
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The president went on to say that he took a cognitive test “very recently” in order to prove to those questioning his mental acuity that he was “all there.” (It appears Trump is talking about the Montreal Cognitive Assessment he took during his 2018 physical exam , which he passed.)
“I proved I was all there because I aced it,” Trump bellowed. “I aced the test and he should take the same exact test. A very standard test.”
“I took it at Walter Reed, a medical center, in front of doctors, and they were very surprised,” he continued. “They said, that’s an unbelievable thing. Rarely does anybody do what you just did. But he should take that same test.”
Dr. Bonespur and Dr. Foureff.
“I took it at Walter Reed, a medical center, in front of doctors, and they were very surprised,” he continued. “They said, that’s an unbelievable thing. Rarely does anybody do what you just did. But he should take that same test.”
Says the Mensa scholar
Thank you so much for posting that!!!!!
They were shocked that he could ID a lion.
OMG, with the bar set that low they were still shocked...
He's just excited that he passed a test without having to pay someone else to take it...
Hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm surprised the idiot in chief didn't use crayons to color the animals or to connect the dots . . . .
A curious boast: Trump brags about 'acing' a cognitive test
Donald Trump called into Sean Hannity's Fox News show last night, and while the two covered a fair amount of ground, one of the more striking parts of their conversation involved a curious presidential boast. The Washington Post reported this morning:
“I actually took one very recently when, you know, the radical left was saying, ‘Is he all there? Is he all there?’ I proved I was all there, because I aced it,” Trump told Hannity. “I aced the test.... I took it at Walter Reed Medical Center in front of doctors and they were very surprised. They said, ‘That’s an unbelievable thing. Rarely does anyone do what you just did.’”
As is always the case, it's worth pausing to emphasize that the president, just as a matter of course, makes things up. Despite what he said on the air, it's entirely possible that Trump did not take a cognitive test "very recently," did not "ace" it, did not "surprise" doctors, and did not hear physicians marvel at his acumen.
But just for the sake of conversation, let's consider the possibility that the presidential tale is true. If so, this is still deeply odd.
The story itself may seem familiar for a reason. It was, after all, two-and-a-half years ago when Trump had an annual physical, which according to his physician, included the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, which led his doctor to conclude that Trump has no cognitive or mental deficiencies.
But as we discussed at the time, the president celebrated 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, known as MoCA, 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.
It's a good thing, to be sure, that Trump was able to do well on the test, but let’s be clear: we’re talking about being able to clear a very low bar, especially for an adult in a position of enormous responsibility. The idea of a president bragging about "acing" such an exam is comparable to a president boasting about knowing the English alphabet.
Trump’s score is not evidence of a towering intellect; it's evidence that he's not literally suffering from dementia.
And with that in mind, I have some follow-up questions.
When Trump said last night that he took the test "very recently," was he referring to January 2018, or did he take it more than once? If it's the latter, is there a reason the president's physicians thought it was necessary to re-administer the Montreal Cognitive Assessment?
Similarly, why would Trump's doctors be "very surprised" that he fared well on a cognitive test that most healthy adults could pass easily?
He did flunk the urine test.
Orange urine is not good.
Video at 11:00. Still shots available for purchase in the link below.
The only thing he can pass successfully is gas.
As my grandfather once said, ''That boy could fuck up a one-car funeral''
Meanwhile back in reality the number of new COVID19 cases passed 70,000 today. But, not to worry, our cognitive genius said that it will disappear, poof.
"One day, it's like a miracle, it will disappear..." What a total disaster.
Well - in all fairness - someday it probably will disappear - I mean when is the last time you heard of someone having smallpox.
It only took 3,000 years to - poof - make it disappear.
True.
With a vaccine.
I hope we don't have to wait 3,000 years. I don't have that much time.
Only 2,999 years to go.
Trump is bragging he can identify a cat and dog...
What is your name Don? Come on you can do this!
Well - I'm not surprised he could identify a cat ...