U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on 27 October 2025 that he had taken what he called an IQ test during a Walter Reed medical evaluation and achieved a perfect score. He then went on to challenge U.S. Representatives Jasmine Crockett and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, his staunch critics, to take the same exam.
He described the test as very hard and explained further that early questions were simple prompts involving animals like tiger, elephant, and giraffe. He insisted that difficulty increased sharply as he advanced and claimed that the two Democratic lawmakers would be unable to answer questions beyond the initial set of basic items.
Medical professionals and public reports clarified that the exam was not an IQ assessment but the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. This is a 10-minute screening tool used to detect early signs of cognitive impairment. It evaluates memory, attention, language, visuospatial ability, and executive function rather than any form of intelligence quotient.
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment was developed in 1996 by neurologist Ziad Nasreddine and carries a maximum score of 30 points. The physician who attended to Trump reported that the U.S. president achieved a perfect score during his April 2025 annual physical. Experts reiterated that such a result does not measure intelligence.
Clinicians have also emphasized that a perfect score on this particular screening does not guarantee broad cognitive fitness. The exam is brief, narrow in focus, and not designed to evaluate complex reasoning. Nevertheless, despite this distinction, Trump continues to highlight his result and present it as evidence of superior mental capability.
The debate over the cognitive fitness of the U.S. president has intensified as critics point to verbal slips, memory lapses, and moments of confusion during public appearances. Supporters dismiss these incidents as insignificant, but the recurring nature of such episodes continues to raise concerns among political observers.
Calls for standardized cognitive evaluations have grown louder since the Biden administration, as the American populace becomes more aware of aging individuals in government posts. Others have argued that consistent and transparent testing would help clarify legitimate health questions while reducing opportunities for misinformation.