After years of unexplained secrecy surrounding his medical records, Donald Trump had his first physical exam of his second term last week, undergoing a nearly five-hour physical exam at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. A couple of days later, the White House released a memo from the president’s physician, which described the Republican as being in “excellent health.”
But that’s not all it said. The relatively detailed summary described Trump as being 6’3” and weighing 224 pounds, which seemed like a rather generous set of data. The same document referenced the president’s “frequent victories in golf events” (no, seriously, that’s what it said), which didn’t exactly bolster confidence in the description of Trump’s health.
Nevertheless, the day after the physician’s report was shared with the public, the president seemed eager to focus on one detail in particular.
Trump: "I took my cognitive exam as part of my physical exam, and I got the highest mark, and one of the doctors said, 'Sir, I've never seen anybody get that kind of — that was the highest mark.'"
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-04-14T16:09:12.366Z
“I took my cognitive exam as part of my physical exam, and I got the highest mark, and one of the doctors said, ‘Sir, I’ve never seen anybody get that kind of — that was the highest mark,’” Trump said at an Oval Office event.
Yes, we’re back to this again.
In case anyone needs a refresher, Trump had an annual physical in early 2018 when his then-physician administered the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), which led his doctor to conclude that Trump had no cognitive or mental deficiencies. The trouble, of course, was that the Republican celebrated the results in such a way that suggested he didn’t fully appreciate what the test was all about.
“If you look at the test, it’s pretty hard to see how you could not score a 30 [out of 30],” a Washington Post piece explained in early 2018, adding, “Yes, Trump passed with flying colors, as any adult with normal cognitive function probably would.”
We’re talking about an exam that’s used to identify evidence of dementia, mental deterioration and neurodegenerative diseases. Those who take it may be asked, for example, to draw a clock or describe the similarities between oranges and bananas.
Trump somehow convinced himself, however, that it was akin to a Mensa exam and that his ability to get a perfect score was proof of his genius.
It was not. While the precise wording of different MoCA tests can vary, and the final questions are marginally more difficult, one sample test asked respondents to name words that begin with the letter F — with the expectation that people could list at least 11 in a minute. Another final question asked respondents to recite a three-digit number backwards.
Nevertheless, in the months and years that followed, Trump bragged about this as if he’d been declared the smartest person on earth. In one especially memorable instance, during his ill-fated re-election campaign, he tried to convince an audience that the test was difficult by claiming that an administrator read him a list of five random words, which he was expected to read back.
In this case, the Republican listed five nouns, which became infamous: “Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.” (These weren’t the actual words on the test, of course. They were the five words that came to Trump’s mind — which isn’t altogether surprising, given his preoccupation with cameras and televisions.)
In case that weren’t quite pitiful enough, however, the president went a step further five years later with his claim that a physician told him, “Sir, I’ve never seen anybody get that kind of” score — which once again suggested that Trump still doesn’t realize everyone who isn’t suffering with dementia, mental deterioration or neurodegenerative diseases gets the same score.
If recent history is any guide, the Republican will nevertheless reference this in many of his public appearances for the foreseeable future.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.








