“Those Are Very Hard” Donald Trump Confuses Dementia Screening For IQ Test While Bragging About Perfect Score

So here’s the thing about flying on Air Force One. You’re the President of the United States. You’re literally 30,000 feet in the air with reporters. The whole world is watching. And you decide THAT’S the perfect moment to brag about passing a test designed to screen for dementia by insisting it’s actually a super difficult IQ test that proves you’re smarter than everyone else.

That’s exactly what happened on Monday, October 27, 2025, when Donald Trump, 79 years old and the oldest person ever inaugurated as President, held court with reporters during his flight to Japan. And what he said has medical professionals, political opponents, and basically everyone with access to Google absolutely LOSING IT.

Because Trump didn’t just brag about passing a cognitive test. He bragged about how HARD it was. He challenged two Democratic congresswomen to try to beat his score. He described the difficult questions with pride. And the entire time, he was talking about a 10 minute dementia screening that asks you to identify pictures of animals.

A tiger. An elephant. A giraffe.

Those were the hard questions he’s so proud of answering correctly. And nobody has the heart to tell him that if those questions were actually difficult for him, that’s not the flex he thinks it is.

The Moment That Broke Medical Twitter

Let’s set the scene. Trump was aboard Air Force One, heading to his East Asia diplomatic trip. He was discussing potential 2028 Republican presidential candidates like J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio. The conversation was going fine.

Then he pivoted to attacking Democratic Representatives Jasmine Crockett, 44, from Texas, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 36, from New York. And that’s when things went completely sideways.

“They have Jasmine Crockett, a low IQ person. AOC is low IQ,” Trump declared with the confidence of someone who definitely knows what an IQ test actually is.

He continued: “You give her an IQ test, have her pass, like, the exams that I decided to take when I was at Walter Reed. I took those are very hard they’re really aptitude tests, I guess, in a certain way, but they’re cognitive tests. Let AOC go against Trump.”

“Let Jasmine go against Trump… The first couple questions are easy: a tiger, an elephant, a giraffe, you know. But when you get to 10, 20, 25, they couldn’t get close to answering those.”

Reporters on the plane collectively blinked. Medical professionals who would later hear about these comments collectively screamed. And the internet collectively realized that the President of the United States just admitted he thinks naming animals is difficult.

What Test Did Trump Actually Take?

Here’s where we need to get factual for a second. The test Trump is describing isn’t an IQ test. It’s not an aptitude test. It’s not measuring intelligence.

It’s the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). A 10 minute screening designed specifically to identify early signs of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Ziad Nasreddine, the Canadian neurologist who created the MoCA test in 1996, has been VERY clear about this. “There are no studies showing it’s related to IQ,” Nasreddine told NBC News. “It’s designed to detect cognitive impairment, not to determine someone’s IQ.”

The MoCA includes tasks like naming animals from pictures, drawing a clock, remembering a short list of words, and other basic cognitive functions. It takes about 10 minutes to complete. It’s scored out of 30 points. A score of 26 or above is considered normal.

Trump reportedly scored 30 out of 30 when he took it in 2018. His physician Dr. Sean Barbabella confirmed in April 2025 that Trump underwent the MoCA during his annual physical at Walter Reed Medical Center and achieved a perfect score again.

That’s good! That means he’s not showing signs of dementia according to this particular screening. Congratulations, Mr. President. Your brain is functioning at the baseline level expected for your age.

But calling it a difficult IQ test? Bragging about how hard the questions were? Challenging people to name animals as proof of superior intelligence? That’s where this gets messy.

The Medical Community Is SCREAMING

Medical professionals have not been shy about pointing out the absurdity of Trump’s comments.

Jonathan Reiner, a professor and cardiologist at the George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences, told the Washington Post: “It’s a very, very low bar for somebody who carries the nuclear launch codes in their pocket to pass and certainly nothing to brag about.”

Read that again. The bar for passing this test is SO LOW that medical professionals think it’s embarrassing to brag about clearing it. It’s like bragging that you successfully tied your shoes or remembered your own name.

David Pakman, a prominent political pundit, wrote on X: “Trump admitted today that he found the dementia screening test very difficult. Really says a lot.”

Because here’s the thing. If you found the Montreal Cognitive Assessment difficult, that’s concerning. If you’re proud of correctly identifying a tiger, an elephant, and a giraffe, we need to have a conversation about what level of cognitive function we’re working with.

The test is designed so that people WITHOUT dementia can easily pass it. If it’s hard for you, that’s not a good sign. That’s the whole point.

The Famous “Person, Woman, Man, Camera, TV” Incident

This isn’t the first time Trump has bragged about his performance on cognitive screenings. Remember “person, woman, man, camera, TV”?

In July 2020, during an interview with Fox News’s Chris Wallace, Trump described how he aced the cognitive test by remembering five words in order. He acted like it was the most impressive intellectual feat anyone had ever accomplished.

“Person, woman, man, camera, TV,” he repeated multiple times, as if he’d just solved a complex mathematical equation instead of completing a basic memory exercise used to screen for dementia.

The internet had a FIELD DAY. Memes exploded. Medical professionals explained that this is literally the point of the test to see if you can remember five simple words. It’s not supposed to be difficult if your brain is functioning normally.

And now, in 2025, we’re back to the same situation. Except this time it’s tigers, elephants, and giraffes instead of person, woman, man, camera, TV.

Why Trump Thinks This Proves He’s Smart

The test has been a hot topic of debate within the medical community due to questions about its accuracy and validity. But more importantly, Trump seems to genuinely believe that passing a dementia screening proves intellectual superiority.

During his Air Force One comments, he specifically challenged Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jasmine Crockett to take the same test. He predicted they would fail. He used it as evidence that they’re “low IQ” while he’s clearly brilliant because he correctly identified animals.

AOC, who graduated cum laude from Boston University with a degree in international relations and economics, probably could identify a giraffe. Just a hunch.

Jasmine Crockett, who earned her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center and worked as a civil rights attorney before being elected to Congress, probably knows what a tiger looks like.

The idea that naming animals from pictures proves someone is smarter than educated, accomplished women who’ve built impressive careers is… well, it’s something.

The Health Concerns That Won’t Go Away

Trump’s confusion about cognitive tests comes amid ongoing concerns about his physical and mental health. At 79, he’s the oldest person ever inaugurated as President. And the signs of potential decline have been adding up.

He’s been photographed with odd discolorations on his hands. Multiple bruises. Swollen ankles. During the September 11 ceremonies, he appeared to have a drooping expression that some medical observers suggested could indicate a stroke.

His speeches have become increasingly nonsensical. He rambles. He repeats himself. He confuses names and places. He tells stories that don’t make sense. Medical experts have noted these could be “clinical signs of dementia.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has refused to provide details about Trump’s recent medical evaluations, calling them “advanced imaging” without clarifying what that actually means.

Trump himself told reporters his MRI results were “perfect,” but he didn’t explain why an MRI was performed or what they were looking for.

The vagueness isn’t helping the concerns. Neither is bragging about passing dementia screenings while calling them IQ tests.

The Political Spin Machine

The White House has been working overtime to frame Trump’s cognitive test results as proof of fitness for office. They point to his perfect MoCA scores as evidence that concerns about his mental acuity are unfounded.

But medical professionals are pushing back hard. Passing a dementia screening doesn’t prove you’re mentally sharp. It just proves you’re not currently showing signs of severe cognitive decline.

“The administration’s emphasis on a ‘perfect’ result and comparisons to opposing politicians fed a narrative intended to neutralize concerns about cognitive decline,” according to fact checking reports. “Critics called this an attempt to rebrand a diagnostic screen as a political credential.”

In other words, the White House is trying to turn “he doesn’t have dementia” into “he’s a genius.” Those are not the same thing.

What The Test Actually Measures

Let’s break down what the Montreal Cognitive Assessment actually involves, because Trump made it sound like he was taking the LSAT or the MCAT.

The test measures several cognitive abilities: attention, memory, language, visuospatial skills, and executive functioning. It includes:

Naming animals from pictures (the tigers and giraffes Trump mentioned) Drawing a clock showing a specific time Remembering a list of five words Repeating sequences of numbers Identifying similarities between objects Following simple instructions

The entire thing takes about 10 minutes. It’s designed to be quick and easy for people without cognitive impairment. The questions start simple and gradually get slightly more complex, but we’re not talking rocket science here.

A score of 26 to 30 is considered normal. Below 26 suggests mild cognitive impairment that warrants further evaluation.

Trump scoring 30 out of 30 means he’s functioning within normal parameters for his age. That’s good! But it doesn’t mean he’s smarter than everyone else. It means his brain is working the way it should be.

The Women He Challenged

Let’s talk about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jasmine Crockett for a second. Because Trump specifically called them out as “low IQ” people who couldn’t pass his “very hard” test.

AOC graduated cum laude from Boston University. She worked as an activist and organizer. She ran for Congress as a democratic socialist and won, becoming the youngest woman ever elected to Congress at age 29. She’s known for her policy knowledge, her ability to question witnesses during hearings, and her effective use of social media.

Jasmine Crockett earned her bachelor’s degree from Mary Baldwin University and her law degree from University of Houston Law Center. She worked as a civil rights attorney. She served in the Texas House of Representatives before being elected to the U.S. House in 2022. She’s known for her sharp questioning and her advocacy for criminal justice reform.

Both women have demonstrated intelligence, capability, and competence in their careers. The idea that they couldn’t identify a giraffe is… well, it’s insulting. Not to them. To whoever thinks that’s a legitimate challenge.

The Internet’s Reaction Was Predictable

Social media exploded after Trump’s Air Force One comments. The reactions ranged from concern to mockery to genuine confusion.

“He admitted he found naming animals difficult and he’s BRAGGING about it?”

“Sir, if you think identifying a tiger is hard, we have bigger problems.”

“The creator of the test literally said it doesn’t measure IQ. How is this real?”

“AOC has a degree in economics and he thinks she can’t name animals. Make it make sense.”

Medical professionals used the moment to educate the public about the difference between dementia screenings and intelligence tests. They explained that conflating the two shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how cognitive assessments work.

Political opponents pointed out the irony of Trump bragging about baseline cognitive function while calling others stupid.

And comedians had a field day with the idea that the President thinks naming animals is intellectually challenging.

The Bottom Line

On October 27, 2025, aboard Air Force One, Donald Trump confused a dementia screening for an IQ test. He bragged about how difficult it was. He challenged political opponents to try to match his performance. He described identifying animals as proof of superior intelligence.

The test he’s referring to is the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a 10 minute screening designed to detect early signs of dementia. Its creator, Dr. Ziad Nasreddine, has explicitly stated it doesn’t measure IQ and isn’t designed to determine intelligence.

Medical professionals like Dr. Jonathan Reiner have said the bar for passing is so low that bragging about it is embarrassing. Political commentators like David Pakman have noted that admitting you found it difficult is actually concerning.

Trump continues to face questions about his cognitive health. He’s 79 years old. He’s shown signs of potential decline. His speeches are increasingly confused. His medical reports are vague.

And now, he’s proudly announcing to the world that he successfully identified pictures of animals and thinks that makes him smarter than congresswomen with law degrees and economics degrees.

This is where we are. The President of the United States, the man with access to nuclear codes, thinks a dementia screening is an IQ test. He thinks it’s hard. And he’s challenging others to prove they’re as smart as him by naming tigers and elephants.

If you passed third grade, congratulations. You’re probably qualified to take the same test Donald Trump is so proud of acing.

And if you think that’s concerning rather than impressive, you’re not alone. Medical professionals, political opponents, and a significant portion of the internet are right there with you, watching this unfold and wondering how we got here.

The Talk Lounge doesn’t make the news. We just report it. But even we have to admit: this one is particularly wild. And the fact that it’s real? That makes it even wilder.

Donald Trump thinks naming animals is difficult. He said it on Air Force One. In front of reporters. On the record.

And that, folks, is where we’re at in October 2025.