WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump suggested Saturday evening that President Joe Biden “should take a cognitive test,” only to confuse who gave him the test in the next sentence.
The former president and presumptive Republican nominee referred to Republican Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson, who served as the White House physician for part of his presidency, “Ronny Johnson.” The moment came as Trump questioned Biden’s mental acuity, something he often does during the campaign and on social media.
“He doesn’t even know what the word ‘inflation’ means. I think he should take a cognitive test like me,” the former president said of Biden during a speech at a Turning Point Action conference in Detroit.
Seconds later he continued, “Doctor Ronny Johnson. Does everyone know Ronny Johnson, congressman from Texas? He was the White House doctor, and he said he thought I was the healthiest president in history, so I immediately liked him a lot.”
Jackson was elected to Congress in 2021 and has been one of Trump’s most vocal defenders on Capitol Hill.
Trump, who turned 78 on Friday, has made the question of whether 81-year-old Biden is ready for a second term a centerpiece of his campaign. But online critics were quick to seize on his blunder on Saturday night, as the Biden campaign — which has long fought criticism of the Democratic president’s verbal missteps — posted a clip of the moment minutes later.
Trump took the cognitive test in 2018 at his own request, Jackson told reporters at the time. The exam is designed to detect early signs of memory loss and other mild cognitive impairment.
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment administered by Trump involves memorizing a list of spoken words; listening to a list of random numbers and repeating them backwards; name as many words as possible within one minute that start with, for example, the letter F; accurately draw a cube; and describing concrete ways in which two objects – such as a train and a bicycle – are the same.
Trump later said he had to memorize a list of words and recite them accurately in the order: “Person.” Woman. Man. Camera. TV.”
During the same speech in Detroit, Trump also referred to a video clip that was widely circulated online in Republican circles, showing Biden at the recently concluded Group of Seven summit in Italy, watching skydivers land with flags of different countries.
A cropped version of the video shows Biden stepping away from the leaders, turning his back and walking in the opposite direction. He gives a thumbs up, but it’s not clear who he’s gesturing to. However, a fuller view of the same scene shows the president turning and looking at a landed paratrooper.
Trump nonetheless seized on the video clip and falsely described Biden turning “to look at trees,” prompting laughter and shouts from the crowd.
The Biden campaign released a statement dismissing the clip as misleadingly cropped and accusing those who distributed the clip of “tampering with the video to fabricate lies.”
