At a New Hampshire campaign rally, Donald Trump claimed to have “aced” a recent cognitive test and struggled to pronounce the word “climate,” footage from the event shows.
“I don’t know if you saw, but a few months ago, I took a cognitive test my doctor gave me,” Mr Trump told supporters at the Saturday event.
His comments came just after former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley questioned whether the former president was mentally capable of taking office again after he appeared to repeatedly confuse her with former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a campaign speech on Friday.
“I said, ‘give me a cognitive test, just so we can you know,’ because you know what the standards were, and I aced it,” Mr Trump continued.
Dr Jonathan Reiner, a medical analyst for CNN and professor of medicine and surgery at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, called into question why Mr Trump would need multiple cognitive tests, considering he also took a cognitive test while serving as president.
“Why has Trump had multiple cognitive exams? According to the Cleveland Clinic ‘cognitive tests are usually done if there’s a suspicion of mental decline or impairment,’” Dr Reiner posted on X. “Last night we saw the former president mistake Haley for Pelosi. Has he experienced other symptoms?”
In their post on cognitive testing, the Cleveland Clinic also states, “a good score doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no brain impairment.”
“There still could be brain functioning issues,” their website reads.
At the same event, the former President inexplicably referred to the climate as “clime,” appearing to struggle to pronounce the word correctly.
“They don’t go far,” Mr Trump said, referring to electric vehicles. “But it’s certainly not great for your clime. Your clime. They call it climate.”
His reference to the “clime” was not his first verbal slip-up in recent weeks. On Thursday, Mr Trump appeared to yet again mix up President Joe Biden and former president Barack Obama. In his latest speech, however, Mr Trump claimed the apparent mix-up was sarcastic.
Last month, Mr Trump also appeared to confuse Hamas with hummus.
Slip-ups like these could continue to undercut the 77-year-old former President’s argument that Mr Biden — just four years his senior — is cognitively unfit for office.
The Independent has contacted the Office of Donald Trump for comment.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
