Featured Image Credit: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, Health
Phoebe Tonks
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, Health
Donald Trump has once again weighed in on the conversation surrounding his health, as he claimed doctors had said he just ‘aced’ his third cognitive exam despite having already made the same claim several weeks ago.
Taking to social media on January 2, the president wrote on Truth Social: "The White House Doctors have just reported that I am in 'PERFECT HEALTH,' and that I 'ACED' (Meaning, was correct on 100% of the questions asked!), for the third straight time, my Cognitive Examination, something which no other President, or previous Vice President, was willing to take."
"P.S.," he added, "I strongly believe that anyone running for President, or Vice President, should be mandatorily forced to take a strong, meaningful, and proven Cognitive Examination. Our great Country cannot be run by 'STUPID' or INCOMPETENT PEOPLE! President DJT."
The latest declaration isn’t the first time Trump has made claims about sailing through his cognitive exams, with the president himself already boasting about ‘acing’ his latest exam on December 9.
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This had led critics to raise doubts over whether he had undergone a fourth exam and lost count, or if he was referring to the previous exam again.
In his previous December 9 post, Trump wrote about his accomplishments since returning to office, boasting, "There has never been a President that has worked as hard as me!"
He also claimed he had received ‘PERFECT Marks’ on the ‘long, thorough and very boring Medical Examinations’ that he had undergone at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
"In addition to the Medical," Trump continued. "I have done something that no other President has done, on three separate occasions, the last one being recently, by taking what is known as a Cognitive Examination, something which few people would be able to do very well, including those working at The New York Times, and I ACED all three of them in front of large numbers of doctors and experts, most of whom I do not know.
"I have been told that few people have been able to 'ace' this Examination and, in fact, most do very poorly, which is why many other Presidents have decided not to take it at all," he added.
A cognitive exam checks for problems with your mental functioning and involves answering basic questions and performing simple tasks.
It typically assesses a person’s attention and decision-making skills, judgment, language, learning, reasoning, thinking, understanding and remembering.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, there are multiple types of cognitive exams, but typically they fall into three categories.
· A 15-minute test where you memorize a short list of words, name objects shown in pictures, and copy a drawing of a shape and other similar tasks.
· A 10-minute test that involves counting and identifying objects and other common, well-known facts.
· A three-minute test that involves memorizing and recalling a three-word list of unrelated words. You’ll also draw a picture of a common object.
Medical professionals often recommend the test to individuals if they suspect they may be suffering some form of cognitive decline.
This could be to assess simple things like memory issues, language difficulties, such as struggling to find the right word, or to look at reasons why things that used to be easy have suddenly become much more difficult.
Even if there isn’t any suspicion of an underlying health condition that affects cognition, anyone over the age of 65 (like the president, who is 79) will also be encouraged to take the test routinely for health monitoring.
This is due to natural changes in how your brain works as your body ages.