When South Carolina Republican Presidential candidate Nikki Haley announced she’s be running against Donald Trump in 2024, one of the first things she said during her announcement speech was that anyone over the age of 75 running for President should take a Mental Competency Test. Haley knew full well that her two biggest opponents, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden are among those who would be required should all candidates agree.
Team Biden obviously wants nothing to do with taking a cognitive test due to the President’s rapidly declining mental state and has refused multiple times despite calls from the American people to prove that he is “fit to serve”. Biden passed his annual physical one week ago, but once again, no cognitive test was performed during the physical.
Donald Trump, however, was quick to agree with Nikki Haley that he would be more than willing to take one. Clearly, Trump doesn’t believe he has anything to worry about, especially seeing that he aced the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) in 2018 scoring a 30 out of 30.
Three years later in June of 2021, Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) and 13 of his House Republican colleagues called on President Joe Biden to undergo the same cognitive test that his predecessor Donald Trump passed in 2018.
In a letter written to Joe Biden on June 18, 2021, the 14 GOP representatives cited what they described as Biden’s “mental decline and forgetfulness” and urged him to take the (MOCA).
“We encourage you to follow the example set by President Trump by undergoing a cognitive test as soon as possible and immediately making the results available for the American people,” the letter said. Biden declined the request and has yet to commit to the test.
Donald Trump on Wednesday renewed those calls for a cognitive test but also took it one step further. In a Truth Social post, Trump posted “ANYBODY running for the Office of President of the United States should agree to take a full & complete Mental Competency Test simultaneously (or before!) with the announcement that he or she is running, & likewise, but to a somewhat lesser extent, agree to a test which would prove that you are physically capable of doing the job. Being an outstanding President requires great mental acuity & physical stamina. If you don’t have these qualities or traits, it is likely you won’t succeed. MAGA!”
MOCA is not a test of IQ but is designed to assess whether a person has cognitive impairments. The questions appear simple—such as asking the person to draw a clock showing 11.10—but they test for problems that might occur in the early stages of dementia, according to The New York Times.
