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According to the test designer, Donald Trump’s boast that he “hit” a frequently used cognitive test is not exactly a worthwhile achievement.
Dr. Ziad Nasreddine, who developed and recorded the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test in 1996, said that anyone with functional cognitive abilities should be able to pass the test.
Talking with Market ClockThe doctor explained that anyone without dementia should be able to pass the test without problems.
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“This is not an IQ test or the level of how a person is extremely skilled or not,” said Nasreddine Market Clock. “The test is supposed to help doctors detect the first signs of Alzheimer’s disease, and it became very popular because it was a short, highly sensitive test for early deterioration.”
The test is a 10-minute exam and includes questions intended to assess different parts of the brain for cognitive function. Questions include identifying the animal picture and asking the subjects to draw an analog clock and draw the hands at a specific time.
Patients suffering from cognitive impairment with problems of spatial awareness, memory or retention of information related to the questions.
During Trump’s interview with Chris Wallace on Sunday, the Fox News journalist challenged the president for his boast.
“I also took the test, when I heard you passed it. It is not the most difficult test. It shows an image and says ‘what is that,’ and it is an elephant,” Wallace said.
Trump claimed that Wallace misrepresented the test and said the questions became more difficult as the test progressed. He claimed that doctors were surprised by his performance on the 2018 exam, in which he said he scored a perfect score of 30 out of 30.
“They said, ‘That’s an incredible thing. Rarely does someone do what you just did,'” Trump said.
Nasreddine said it should be easy if Trump doesn’t suffer from cognitive decline.
“It’s supposed to be easy for someone who doesn’t have cognitive decline,” he said.
The doctor said that poor performance on the test is not necessarily evidence of cognitive decline, and that the results should be reviewed and interpreted by doctors. Doctors administering the test have conversations with the patient after the test and may re-administer the test if they feel an additional round is necessary.
Nasreddine said the cognitive tests were relevant considering that both Trump and his alleged challenger, Joe Biden, are over 70 years old. However, she cautioned that both sides of the political aisle are misrepresenting the point of proof in their efforts to describe their political opponents as cognitively disabled.
“The purpose is to detect impairment; it is not intended to determine whether someone has extremely high levels of ability,” said Nasreddine. “I think there is misinformation on both sides of the political divide.”
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