President Donald Trump says he can handle being called a tyrant and a dictator—just don’t call him dumb.
In fact, the 79-year-old told supporters on Friday that he hates the insult so much that it spurred him to take a cognitive test to prove the naysayers wrong.
Speaking in New York for what was supposed to be a rally on affordability, Trump once again veered off script to relay a story about a conversation he claims he had with his doctor after critics took aim at his mental acuity.
“They hit me with a bad one: He’s a dumb person. D-U-M, not the B,” Trump said.
“Most people don’t know it has a B.”
“I said, ‘Doctor, I don’t mind being called a brilliant tyrant dictator, but I don’t want to be called dumb,’” the president continued, as he recalled the conversation in vivid detail.
“‘What do I do, doctor? Is there some kind of test I can take?’ He said, ‘Actually, sir, there is. It’s a cognitive test.’ I said, ‘How many presidents have taken it?’ ‘None… No people have taken it.’ I said, ‘Well, is it good or bad? Is it tough?’”
In a meandering rant, Trump then went on to explain what the test involved, telling the crowd how the questions “start off easy” but become “pretty hard” by the end.
“So, the first question was: you have a bear, a snake, an elephant, and a horse. Name the horse. That’s the horse,” Trump said, mimicking how he did the exam.
“But toward the end, they had a question, like, ‘Pick a number sir, any number. OK, 203. Multiply times nine, divide by two, add on 1324 subtract 1292. Sir. Multiply it out one more time by 19. What’s the answer, sir?’
“And I got it right,” Trump claimed.
Trump has often bragged about passing three cognitive tests—specifically the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), which essentially screens for dementia. But some experts say the fact that he has taken three in such a short window could be concerning.
“If you have one MoCA, that’s like taking your temperature,” Dr. Henry David Abraham, professor of psychiatry emeritus at Tufts University School of Medicine, previously told the Daily Beast.
“If a temperature is OK, you don’t come back every 10 minutes and take another temperature. But if it’s not OK, then you want to see where it’s going.”
The president’s latest comments come days before he is likely to take yet another cognitive test when he visits Walter Reed Hospital on Monday for his latest medical and dental checkup—his fourth publicized examination since returning to office.
But while Trump was jovial during his speech, serious concerns about his mental fitness have nonetheless emerged, thanks in part to his erratic behavior and extreme comments.
A group of about three dozen medical experts sounded the alarm earlier this month, warning that the president was “mentally unfit” and must be removed from office “with the greatest urgency” amid escalating global tensions.
The group had not examined the president face-to-face, but it included neurologists, psychiatrists, and other physicians with extensive experience diagnosing cognitive disorders and evaluating patients.
Dr. John Gartner, a former Johns Hopkins University professor, also told The Daily Beast Podcast that as the president approaches 80, the signs that he has lost a step have become clearer.
“Anybody who has eyes, ears, and a brain… and hasn’t drunk the Kool-Aid or been bitten by a MAGA zombie, can see for themselves that this person is transparently mentally ill and cognitively deteriorating,” Gartner said.
But Trump, who was frequently critical of former President Joe Biden for age-related health issues, often remarks about how good he feels despite his years. His allies have also scoffed at suggestions that he is declining.
“He’s the sharpest and most insightful commander-in-chief we’ve had in generations,” Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth told Congress during an April committee hearing, in which he was grilled about the president’s “unhinged” social media posts.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle also told the Daily Beast in a statement, “President Trump is the sharpest and most accessible President in American history who is working nonstop to solve problems and deliver on his promises, and he remains in excellent health.”
