Donald Trump made a compelling case on Friday as to why people running for president or vice president should be required to take a cognitive exam similar to the ones he has previously taken and claimed to have passed with flying colors. In the process, he also proved, once again, that irony is dead.
Trump's Speech at The Villages
The president was speaking to seniors living in The Villages, a prominent Florida retirement community, when he explained the pressing need to have the mental acuity of the nation's future chief executives examined in detail. His reason seemed destined to set him up for brutal internet mockery.
“I mean, you get a guy who gets in there, he's got a good line of crap. He gets in, and all of a sudden, you're stuck with a man who's a moron,” Trump said. “This is not good.”
Earlier in his speech, Trump went into great detail about his own cognitive testing, which was meant to find signs of cognitive dysfunction and possible dementia, and suggested that not everyone would be able to handle it as well as he did.
Trump's Claims About His Own Tests
“I took three of them, aced all of them, by the way,” he said of the tests before bragging that he was “the only president to take a cognitive test,” something he claimed former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden could never pass.
“You know, the first question is very easy. It's a lion, a giraffe, a bear and a shark. They say, ‘Which one is the bear?’” he explained before adding that the last 10 questions on the 30-question test were challenging. “A lot of you wouldn't have been able to answer those 10 questions,” he told his audience.
Social Media Reactions
Many people on social media felt compelled to go into full snark mode over the president's “moron” comment. One user wrote, “We know. He's president right now.” Another commented, “That would suck. We'd probably have unprovoked wars, high gas prices and all our allies would hate us.”
A third user noted, “He knows a lot about the topic for some reason …” Another critic stated, “A basic cognitive screen isn't proof of brilliance, yet Trump always uses it as some kind of flex—it only proves you cleared the lowest bar. The real test is decisions, and those speak for themselves.”
One observer remarked, “Amazing. He must be feeling like people think he's a real dummy to be talking about this so much lately.” Another simply said, “Every accusation is a confession lol.”
