What to Know
President Donald Trump has taken several cognitive tests during his political career, and he’s been talking about it a lot lately. He loves to brag about “acing” these tests even though he previously revealed that a test that was “not easy” asked him to identify animals. People have been mocking him because of this, but that hasn’t stopped him from boasting about this “achievement” that other presidents haven’t experienced.
The Daily Show‘s Jon Stewart is among the people who have called him out for this, and he had receipts.
Like many critics have pointed out, taking several cognitive tests is not exactly a flex.
Trump: "I took three cognitive tests. Aced all of them, by the way. I'm the only president to take a cognitive test. I don't think Obama could pass it. The first question is very easy — it's a lion, a giraffe, a bear, and a shark. They say, 'Which one is the bear?'" pic.twitter.com/WIg6GEIBDn
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 1, 2026
And the fact that other presidents haven’t done this is certainly… telling, but maybe not something to brag about repeatedly. During a recent press conference, Trump said, “No president has ever taken a cognitive test except me. I’ve taken three of them.” He has reiterated this in several speeches, and also posted about it on Truth Social recently, writing, “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!”
Stewart also argued that Trump should maybe not be so proud of this fact. “Why do you think that you’re the only president that that happens to?” Stewart questioned on the show. “That for some reason, every time you go to the doctor, which is a lot, the doctor is always like, ‘Hey, while you’re here… Could you come over here quickly and explain which one is the bear?'”
Stewart was also skeptical of Trump’s claims that he “aced” the tests.
Jon Stewart has a question that is NOT on Trump’s cognitive test…
— Marlene Robertson🇨🇦 (@marlene4719) May 5, 2026
“And why is it that you are the ONLY president ever being asked to have cognitive tests?” pic.twitter.com/3tP82T5Pyv
Because, sure, maybe he was able to identify a giraffe. But Stewart didn’t seem to think that Trump would be able to answer all of the questions on the test.
Aside from being asked to identify animals, Trump claimed that he was also asked to do math. He explained, “You know, they say, ‘Take a number, any number,’ OK, I’ll take 99, ‘Multiply times nine,’ OK, ‘Divide it by three,’ good, ’Add 4,293.’ That’s good. ‘Divide by two. Subtract 93. Divide by nine.”
But Stewart pulled up a clip from 20 years ago.
During a 2006 episode of Howard Stern’s show, Trump answered a math question with confidence, but was wrong. At the time, he would’ve been about 60 years old. He’s now approaching 80.
In the clip Stewart shared, Stern asked, “What is 17 times 6?” Two of Trump’s kids, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, couldn’t answer the question, but the president thought he could. He stated, “It’s eleven-twelve,” before correcting himself and saying, “one-twelve.”
After showing the clip, Stewart shared the correct answer. “It’s 102,” he said. “But somehow we’re supposed to believe that 20 years later you’ve turned into a genius?”
It’s been reported that Trump has taken the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. This test does not measure intelligence, and is meant to screen for cognitive impairment. You’d think Trump might stop bragging about it after seeing all of the criticism online, but he clearly either still thinks it’s something worth bragging about or hopes that other people will believe he’s accomplished something by taking these tests.
READ NEXT: Trump Gives Example of One of the Questions on His Cognitive Test & Says It’s ‘Not Easy’
