Former President Donald Trump is calling for mandatory cognitive exams for anyone seeking the nation’s highest office, a proposal that has quickly added fuel to an already heated political climate.
In a post shared on Truth Social, Trump argued that all presidential and vice-presidential candidates should be required to complete a cognitive screening before entering a race. He referenced the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a brief evaluation designed to measure memory and reasoning skills, and pointed to his own testing history as proof of its value.
The entire post on Truth Social read:
Anybody running for President or Vice President should be forced to take a Cognitive Examination prior to entering the Race! By doing so, we wouldn’t be surprised at people like Barack “Hussein” Obama, or Sleepy Joe Biden, getting
“ELECTED.” Our Country would be a much better place! I took the Exam three times during my (“THREE!”) Terms as President, and ACED IT ALL THREE TIMES — An Achievement that, even on a single Exam, according to the Doctors, has rarely been done before! President DONALD J. TRUMP
Trump has previously stated he scored perfectly on the exam during multiple evaluations, including recent testing at Walter Reed. Medical professionals note that while high scores are common, repeated perfect results are less typical but not unheard of.
Reaction to the proposal has split along familiar lines. Supporters see it as a straightforward way to ensure candidates are mentally fit for office. Critics argue the test is too basic to serve as a meaningful benchmark and have questioned Trump’s emphasis on his record.
The discussion arrives as some Democratic lawmakers and advocacy groups are raising concerns about Trump’s own fitness. Representative Jamie Raskin has formally requested a cognitive assessment, while others have floated the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment, which allows for a president to be declared unfit by the vice president and cabinet.
Organizations such as the NAACP have also weighed in, describing Trump’s conduct as a potential risk. However, analysts note that any attempt to remove a president under the amendment would face steep political hurdles.
The White House and Trump allies have dismissed the criticism as partisan maneuvering, keeping the focus on what is shaping up to be another deeply polarized issue.