During a segment of The Five on Fox News, Democratic strategist Jessica Tarlov questioned Donald Trump’s mental acuity, referencing his claims of acing a cognitive test and contrasting it with Joe Biden’s lack of taking a similar test.
Responding to co-host Jeanine Pirro’s mention of Trump’s cognitive test success, Tarlov highlighted that such tests are typically administered to individuals who have experienced traumatic accidents. She cited Trump’s previous statements, including his recitation of “person, woman, man, camera, TV” during an interview with Chris Wallace, as examples that drew concern.
Trump has repeatedly mentioned his success on the cognitive test, describing it as consisting of questions ranging from easy to difficult, with his recitation of specific words earning him praise from doctors. This test has similarities to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, often used to screen for early signs of dementia.
In June 2021, fourteen Republican House members, including former White House physician Ronny Jackson, urged President Biden to take the cognitive test. Jackson, who previously praised Trump’s cognitive health, was recently demoted by the US Navy following allegations of inappropriate conduct involving alcohol and mistreatment of subordinates.
“Well, this mental acuity test, which included identifying animals and counting backwards by a factor of seven, is something to give to people who have been in traumatic accidents… it’s embarrassing when Trump says that and when he did ‘man, person, woman, camera, whatever he said to [former Fox anchor] Chris Wallace,” Ms Tarlov said.
“It was 30 or 35 questions. The first questions are very easy. The last questions are much more difficult,” he told Fox News in 2020.
“You’ll go, ‘person, woman, man, camera, TV’,” he added. “They say, ‘could you repeat that?’ … So it’s, ‘Person, woman, man, camera, TV.’ OK, that’s very good. If you get it in order, you get extra points,” he added.
