Former President Trump said he would score higher on a cognitive test than GOP challenger Nikki Haley, who has seized on a series of gaffes by Trump to criticize his age ahead of New Hampshire’s crucial primary on Tuesday.
In an interview with Fox News’s Martha McCallum, Trump claimed he would beat Haley in a cognitive test after being asked about her criticism of his recent verbal miscues. Haley has also repeatedly called for mental competency tests for politicians aged 75 and older in her campaign for the White House. Trump is 77; Haley is 52.
“Well, I think I’m a lot sharper than her. I would do this: I would sit down right now and take an aptitude test and it would be my result against her result, and she’s not going to win, not gonna even come close to winning,” he said in the interview.
Trump went on to repeat his claims that he has aced two cognitive tests, including one during his time in office and another he took more “recently.”
“I aced it twice. I aced it. But I would say that, you know, I’ve actually called for a cognitive test for anybody running for president because I actually think that’s a good idea. It’d be nice to have an intelligent person be president,” he said.
Trump has bragged about the results of the cognitive test he took in 2018 with former White House physician Ronnie Jackson, who told reporters at the time Trump answered every question correctly on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, which is a test to detect mild cognitive impairment or the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
In recent days, Haley and President Biden have criticized Trump over his recent gaffes, including when he appeared to confuse Haley with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in a campaign event last week.
Both Trump and Biden have faced questions over their age and mental fitness as the two of them face a likely rematch of 2020 in November’s general election. Haley has repeatedly called for a generational change when campaigning against the former president.
The Hill has reached out to Haley’s campaign for comment.
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