Donald Trump keeps bragging about acing a cognitive test. Jon Stewart found the real reason no other president took it
Think about it.
Donald Trump is still talking about how he’s the only president to ever take a cognitive test, and Jon Stewart just called out the obvious reason no one else bothered. It’s not because they couldn’t pass; it’s because they didn’t need to.
According to Mashable, Stewart dug into the president’s repeated boasts during a recent episode of The Daily Show, playing clips of Trump bragging about acing multiple cognitive tests. “You’re the only president to take the cognitive test?” Stewart asked, deadpan. “Let me ask you a question: Why do you think that is?” The implication was clear. If doctors keep asking you to take cognitive tests, maybe they’re not just being thorough. Maybe they’re checking something.
Trump has leaned hard into the idea that he’s mentally sharper than any president before him. He’s claimed to have taken three cognitive tests and aced them all, even suggesting that Barack Obama wouldn’t have been able to pass.
Trump has consistently been vocal about his ‘good’ health
At a recent press conference, he described one of the test questions in detail, walking through a series of mental math steps he said he nailed. “Take a number, any number,” he recounted. “I’ll take 99. Multiply times nine. Divide it by three. Add 4,293. Divide by two. Subtract 93. Divide by nine.” Trump made it sound like he’d just solved a Rubik’s Cube blindfolded.
Stewart wasn’t buying it. He called Trump a “regular Stephen Hawking,” but the sarcasm was thick. Then he dropped the real punchline: a clip from a 2006 Howard Stern interview where Trump and his children, Ivanka and Don Jr., completely flubbed a basic multiplication question.
Stern asked, “What is 17 times 6?” Don Jr. stumbled through an answer, Ivanka tried to cover for him, and Trump confidently chimed in with “eleven-twelve,” before correcting himself to “one-twelve.” Neither answer was close. The correct answer? 102. Stewart let the clip play out, then hit the audience with the obvious question: “But somehow we’re supposed to believe that 20 years later you’ve turned into a genius?”
The cognitive test Trump keeps bringing up isn’t some elite IQ exam
It’s a basic screening tool designed to catch early signs of cognitive decline, not to measure genius. The fact that he’s treating it like a badge of honor says more about his priorities than his mental sharpness. If anything, the repeated testing suggests doctors are keeping a closer eye on him than they did on previous presidents.
Trump’s health has been a topic of public discussion for years, and not just because of the cognitive tests. The Independent reports that earlier this year, photos of bruising on his hands sparked speculation about his well-being. The White House explained it away as a side effect of his vigorous handshaking and high aspirin intake.
Then there were the swollen ankles spotted after a trip to Florida, which health experts attributed to chronic venous insufficiency – a condition where damaged valves in the legs cause blood to pool, leading to swelling and discomfort. The Cleveland Clinic notes that CVI can cause ulcers and increased pressure in the veins, which isn’t exactly a minor issue.
Meanwhile, public opinion on Trump’s health isn’t great
A recent poll from The Washington Post, ABC News, and Ipsos found that 59% of respondents don’t believe he has the mental acuity to serve as president. Another 55% said they don’t think he’s physically healthy enough to handle the job. Those numbers have been trending in the wrong direction for him. Last fall, only 45% of Americans thought he lacked the physical health to be president. Now, that number is over half.
Stewart’s segment didn’t just poke fun at Trump’s cognitive test obsession. It highlighted how the president’s own words and past mistakes undermine his claims. The Howard Stern clip was a perfect example. If Trump couldn’t handle 17 times 6 two decades ago, why should anyone believe he’s suddenly a math whiz now? The answer, of course, is that no one should. The cognitive test isn’t a flex. It’s a red flag, and Stewart made sure everyone saw it that way.
The bigger issue here isn’t just that Trump keeps bringing up the test. It’s that he’s framing it as proof of his superiority when it’s really just proof that doctors are keeping a closer watch on him than they did on his predecessors. No other president has had to take these tests because no other president has given doctors a reason to ask. Stewart’s question, “Why do you think that is,” wasn’t just a joke. It was the whole point.
(Featured image: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from Washington D.C)
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