Former President Donald Trump said Saturday at a campaign rally in Las Vegas that all presidential and vice presidential candidates should take cognitive tests.
Trump did not direct the comment at anyone in particular, nor did he say it should have anything to do with age, which some voters view as a concern in a hypothetical rematch between the former president, 77, and President Joe Biden, 81.
“I really believe it’s important,” Trump said. “I don’t know. They say it’s not constitutional. I don’t know why. They say it’s not constitutional to take an aptitude or cognitive test, but I think anybody running for president — that includes vice president and maybe even some other positions — I think taking certain tests … would be a good thing, personally. Not based on age, I don’t care if you’re 35 years old, but we want intelligent people. Now, that’s not a pure sign of intelligence, but we want people that are intelligent.”
The former president recalled the test he took in office, which he said contained various memory and math questions, and contested allegations that it was too easy.
“Only about 2% in this room can do it, but I did it,” Trump said. “I did it very easily, but I got mocked. They said, ‘Oh, that’s so easy.’ It’s not easy. It’s not easy — go home and try doing it, OK?”
He seemingly finished his thoughts on the matter with, “You would be amazed at how many people would fail it,” before shifting topics to Biden’s handling of the southern border crisis. The former president snuck in a jab at his successor, asking the crowd, “How do you think he’d do on a test? He might not get that first question right.”
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A September 2023 NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ poll found that over half of registered voters are either somewhat or very concerned about both likely party nominees’ cognitive health affecting their ability to effectively serve another term as president.
Several polls released over the last week show Trump with various single-digit leads over Biden, according to FiveThirtyEight.
