Either the nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump believes a cognitive test is an intelligence test or he's lying about his mental health. I don't think there's a gray zone here. If it's the first, he's demented. If it's the second, he's hiding something (probably dementia). Either way, it's bad.It happens too frequently to ignore. The president brags about passing a cognitive test to the point where he seems to believe it's a measure of his IQ. In public remarks, he often puts special emphasis on the word "cognitive" as if to stress that it demonstrates his intelligence. Here's what he told the New York Post after a third trip in a year to Walter Reed. "I do physicals because I think I have an obligation to do it. I took a cognitive test and I got 100 percent on it. The doctors told me very, very few people can ace it. It's actually a tough test."That's only the latest iteration. I went to the Bluesky feed of Aaron Rupar, founder of Public Notice. Aaron watches most of Trump's public appearances. I searched for "cognitive."On May 22, during a rally, Trump said: I said, how many presidents have taken [a cognitive test]? "None." I said, well, is it tough? "It’s a tough test. It starts off easy, then it gets very, very tough." I said well, you know what? I’m gonna take that test. ... This was in my first term. I took it and I aced it. ... So the first question was, you have a bear, a snake, an elephant and a horse. "Name the horse." That’s the horse. ... The New York Times story ... only use[s] the first question that you go into. The other questions they didn’t go into. ... It had a question like "pick a number, sir, any number." Okay, 203. "Multiple by 9. Divide by 2. Add on 1,324. Subtract 1,292. Sir, multiply it out one more time by 19. What is the answer, sir?" I got it right. And the one doctor said, "I've been doing this test for 20 years. I've never seen anybody ace it."On May 4, during a presser, Trump said:In my opinion, anybody running for president or vice president should take a cognitive test. No president has ever taken one, except me. I’ve taken three and I’ve aced each one. One in the first administration, two over here. And whenever they get a little sassy like, "Does he still have what it takes?" I say, all right I’ll take another one. They are hard. There are many people in this room I know that are smart. They’re not gonna ace them. The first question is very easy. You have a lion, a bear and alligator and a squirrel. "Which is the squirrel?" ... The first four or five questions, they get a little more difficult. By the time you get to the end, I don’t wanna be insulting, I’m not gonna do what Gavin Newsom [did] ...On May 1, during a speech, Trump said:I took three of them. Aced all of them. ... I’m the only president to take a cognitive test. I don’t think Obama could pass it. ... Well, Biden – give me a break. The first question is very easy. It’s a lion, a giraffe, a bear and a shark. Which one is the bear? It's a very standard test, but very tough around those 10 questions. ... I’m in a room of brilliant people, but a lot of you wouldn’t have been able to answer. When I got the score of the test, the doctor said "wow." ... I’ve had different phases. They’ve said "he’s a mad genius" and I didn't mind that too much. They said "he’s a horrible human being" and I didn't like that much. Then they said "he’s really not a smart person at all." I really hated that, so I took a cognitive test. ... Dr. Ronny ... had a whole team of doctors at Walter Reed. I said, should I do it? He said, "well, it’s a tough exam, actually. Those last 20 questions they get tough. A lot of people can’t do them." ... I said, I do well on things, so let’s do it. I got every one right.On March 26, during a Cabinet meeting, Trump said:I’m the only president that ever took a cognitive test. I took it three times. It’s actually a very hard test. It wasn’t hard for me, but it’s a cognitive test. It starts off with an easy question and by the time you get to the end ... very few people can answer those questions. They get very tough, mathematical equations and things. I took it three times. I aced it all three times. ... Doc Ronny told me ... "if you take it, it’s Walter Reed ... and if you do badly, it’s probably gonna get out." But I aced it. I got them all right. One doctor said "I’ve never seen anybody get them all right. I’ve been doing the test for 20 years." ... I would love to see anybody that’s a president or a vice president ... take a cognitive test.On December 2, 2025, during a Cabinet meeting, Trump said:They said, "would you like to take a cognitive test?" I said, is it hard? They said, "yes." ... I said, who is the last president to take one? "No president has ever agreed to take one." When you get into the mid questions, meaning, question No. 10, 11, 12, 28, 30, they get harder and harder. ...