Trump brings up the cognitive test again, claiming 'very few people' could achieve what he did, even though the doctor who created it says it has nothing to do with intellect or IQ

• In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, President Donald Trump brought up his results in a cognitive test for the second time this week.
• In the interview, he claimed doctors said "very few people" could achieve what he achieved in the test.
• His achievement was based on him being able to remember five words in a row, several times, including after being asked other questions.
• The test has been on Trump's mind since early June, and he sees it as a potential tool to use against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, according to The Washington Post.
• Contrary to what Trump seems to think, the test does not indicate a high IQ, or any form of intellectual prowess.
• Typically, it's a test used to evaluate someone's cognitive faculties, or establish whether a person might have dementia.
• Ziad Nasreddine, the neurologist who created the test, told The Washington Post: "If someone performs well, what it means is they can be ruled out for cognitive impairment that comes with diseases like Alzheimer's, stroke or multiple sclerosis. That's it."
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President Donald Trump has yet again brought up his performance in a cognitive test, focusing on how he successfully repeated five words in the right order, several times.

In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday evening, Trump reminded viewers of his performance on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), focusing on a part of the test that he described as "much more difficult" than the rest of the test, that was "like a memory test."

The doctors asked him to remember five words in a row, Trump said. As an example, he said: "It's like you'll go 'person, woman, man, camera, TV.' So they say, 'Could you repeat that?' So I said 'Yeah.' So it's 'person, woman, man, camera, TV.'"

He was then asked other questions for about 10 or 15 minutes, before being asked to repeat the five words in order again, which he said he could do.

"The doctors said very few people can do that, very few people get that," he said.

"They say, 'That's amazing. How did you do that?' I do it because I have, like, a good memory, because I'm cognitively there," he said. 

It's the second time this week Trump has brought up the test, which should be passed easily by anyone who does not have dementia.

In an interview that aired on Sunday, Fox News' Chris Wallace questioned the test's difficulty, after taking it himself. 

"Well, it's not the hardest test," he said. "They have a picture and it says, 'What's that?' And it's an elephant." 

Trump responded, saying he bet Wallace couldn't answer the last five questions. He also challenged presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden to take the test. 

Trump views the test as a potential tool to use against Biden to establish whether he's fit for office, The Washington Post reported. 

Trump has been talking about his success at the test since early June, after becoming preoccupied with perceptions around his mental and physical health, in particular after Biden's campaign focused on the way Trump descended down a ramp after a speech, The Washington Post reported.

But contrary to what Trump might think, the test does not indicate a high IQ or any form of intellectual prowess, The Post reported.

It's a test typically used to assess someone's cognitive faculties or to ascertain whether a person suffers from dementia. 

Dr. Ziad Nasreddine, the neurologist who created MoCA, told the Post: "If someone performs well, what it means is they can be ruled out for cognitive impairment that comes with diseases like Alzheimer's, stroke or multiple sclerosis. That's it."

"It's not meant to measure IQ or intellectual skill in any way," he said. 

Trump also told Fox News that it was former White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson who administered the test, but he hasn't been Trump's doctor for two years and is currently running for Congress in Texas.

According to The Post, although he said he took the test "very recently," the White House refused to disclose whether he was referring to a test he took with Jackson in 2018, or if he took it again. 

In the latest Fox News interview, Trump said he took the test a year ago. 

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source https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-again-brings-up-cognitive-test-in-new-interview-2020-7