Trump Confuses Doctor's Name While Challenging Biden to Cognitive Test
Former President Donald Trump gives the keynote address at Turning Point Action's "The People's Convention" on June 15, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. Trump questioned Bidnen's mental ability during the event.
In a speech at the Turning Point Action convention in Detroit on Saturday night, former President Donald Trump once again questioned President Joe Biden's mental acuity, suggesting that Biden should take a cognitive test.
However, in the next breath, Trump confused the name of the doctor who administered the test to him during his presidency.
"He doesn't even know what the word 'inflation' means. I think he should take a cognitive test like I did," Trump said of Biden. Seconds later, he continued, "Doc Ronny Johnson. Does everyone know Ronny Johnson, congressman from Texas? He was the White House doctor, and he said I was the healthiest president, he feels, in history, so I liked him very much indeed immediately."
The doctor Trump was referring to is actually named Ronny Jackson, not Ronny Johnson. Jackson, who served as the White House physician for part of Trump's presidency, is now a Republican congressman from Texas and one of Trump's most vocal defenders on Capitol Hill.
Trump, who turned 78 on Friday, has made questioning whether the 81-year-old Biden is fit for a second term a centerpiece of his campaign. However, critics quickly seized on his Saturday night gaffe, with the Biden campaign posting a clip of the moment, minutes later.
The Biden-Harris HQ X page quickly responded by reposting Trump's speech and the caption, "Trump: I think Biden should take a cognitive test. My doctor Ronny Johnson. Ronny Johnson, do you know him? (His name is Ronny Jackson)"
Newsweek reached out to both Trump and Biden campaigns via email on Saturday night for comment.
The cognitive test Trump took in 2018 was at his own request, according to Jackson. The exam, known as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, is designed to detect early signs of memory loss and other mild cognitive impairment. It includes tasks such as remembering a list of spoken words, listening to a list of random numbers and repeating them backward, naming as many words that begin with a specific letter as possible within a minute, accurately drawing a cube, and describing concrete ways that two objects — like a train and a bicycle — are alike.
After taking the test, Trump said that he had to remember and accurately recite a list of words in order: "Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV."
The Biden campaign has long fought off criticism about the president's verbal missteps, arguing that they do not reflect his ability to lead the country. Biden, who has been open about his lifelong struggle with stuttering, has dismissed concerns about his cognitive abilities and has pointed to his accomplishments in office as evidence of his competence.
In April, a leading psychologist said Trump's mental capabilities appear to be "faltering in a very dangerous way," while speaking on the David Packman Show. Harry Segal, a senior lecturer in psychology at Cornell University who has been critical of the former president's mental health said he believed Trump's "cognitive decline as being another layer of danger on top of an already erratic, mentally challenged person who shouldn't be anywhere near the White House."
As the 2024 presidential race heats up, both candidates' mental fitness will surely continue to be a topic of debate.
However, Trump's latest gaffe while attempting to challenge Biden's cognitive abilities may undermine his own argument and provide fodder for his critics.
Start your unlimited Newsweek trial