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President Donald Trump on Thursday said candidates for president and vice president should be required to take cognitive exams before entering a race, reviving a debate that has surfaced in recent election cycles.
In a post on Truth Social, the president argued such testing would improve the quality of leadership.
“Anybody running for President or Vice President should be forced to take a Cognitive Examination prior to entering the Race!” he wrote. “By doing so, we wouldn’t be surprised at people like Barack Obama, or Joe Biden, getting ‘ELECTED.’”
He also pointed to his own experience with cognitive testing.
“Our Country would be a much better place! I took the Exam three times during my (‘THREE!’) Terms as President, and ACED IT ALL THREE TIMES — An Achievement that, even on a single Exam, according to the Doctors, has rarely been done before!” he added.
Questions about candidates’ mental fitness have periodically emerged in modern campaigns. During the 2016 election, President Trump faced calls from critics to undergo cognitive testing, while concerns about age and mental acuity were also a factor in the 2024 race.
The president frequently criticized Biden’s cognitive performance, and Biden’s performance in a 2024 debate drew scrutiny and contributed to political pressure that ultimately led him to exit the race.
The post followed strong words from the president against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
“Hakeem Jeffries just called the Supreme Court of the United States an illegitimate Court! This is a Low IQ individual, who should not be allowed to talk that way about one of the Greatest Institutions anywhere in the World. He should withdraw the statement, IMMEDIATELY!” President Trump wrote on Thursday.
The president also blasted German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in another post on Thursday. “The Chancellor of Germany should spend more time on ending the war with Russia/Ukraine (Where he has been totally ineffective!), and fixing his broken Country, especially Immigration and Energy, and less time on interfering with those that are getting rid of the Iran Nuclear threat, thereby making the World, including Germany, a safer place!”
