President Donald Trump often points to a test he took at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center as proof of his mental fitness, describing it as a hard "IQ test" his critics could never pass. The test is the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, or MoCA — a short screening tool doctors use to look for signs of dementia. Trump has reported a perfect score each time he has taken it, most recently in May 2026.

Trump became the oldest person ever inaugurated president in January 2025 and turned 80 in June 2026. Here is what is known about his health, and what isn't.

The short answers

  • What test did Trump take? The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), a one-page, roughly 10-minute screen for cognitive impairment.
  • Is it an IQ test? No. Its creator, neurologist Ziad Nasreddine, has said there are no studies linking it to IQ; it is designed to detect impairment, not measure intelligence.
  • What did he score? 30 out of 30, according to his physicians, in 2018, April 2025 and May 2026.
  • What was the scan in October 2025? Advanced imaging of his heart, blood vessels and abdomen that his doctor called "perfectly normal." The White House first described it as an MRI; Trump later said it was a CT scan.

What the MoCA measures

The MoCA was developed in Canada in the 1990s to help doctors spot mild cognitive impairment, which simpler tests can miss. It checks short-term memory (repeating a list of five words and recalling them later), attention, language, abstract thinking and orientation, with tasks such as naming pictured animals, copying a cube, drawing a clock and counting backward by sevens. A score of 26 or higher out of 30 is generally considered normal.

Trump has described parts of the test publicly — the animal pictures, and in 2020 the five-word memory list he summarized as "person, woman, man, camera, TV." Doctors note that a perfect score rules out obvious impairment at the time of the test, but the screen was not built to assess anyone's fitness for a demanding job (Céline Gounder; Salon).

Timeline

January 2018 — The first perfect score

During his first term, White House physician Ronny Jackson reported that Trump had taken the MoCA at his own request and scored 30 out of 30.

April 11, 2025 — Annual physical

Trump's second-term physician, Sean Barbabella, reported a perfect MoCA score and declared him fully fit for duty.

July 2025 — Swollen legs and bruised hands

After photos showed swelling in Trump's ankles, the White House said tests had found chronic venous insufficiency, a common and benign condition in people over 70. Barbabella attributed bruising on the back of Trump's hand to frequent handshaking and the aspirin he takes for heart health.

October 10, 2025 — An unscheduled second exam

Trump returned to Walter Reed for what the White House called a routine follow-up, including lab work and "advanced imaging." Barbabella's memo said Trump remained in exceptional health and that his cardiac age was about 14 years younger than his actual age. Trump said an MRI had come back "perfect" but didn't say what was scanned or why (HealthDay).

October 27, 2025 — The "IQ test" remarks

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump challenged Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jasmine Crockett to take "the exams I took at Walter Reed," describing easy early questions about a tiger, an elephant and a giraffe (Axios). The description matched the MoCA's animal-naming section.

December 1, 2025 — The scan results

After weeks of questions, the White House released a memo saying the October imaging covered Trump's heart, blood vessels and abdomen, found no narrowing of the arteries or other abnormalities, and was "perfectly normal." Barbabella described the imaging as preventive (CBS News).

January 2026 — "My health is perfect"

In a long interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump said the October scan was actually a CT scan, not an MRI, and that he regretted getting it because it gave critics "ammunition." He said he takes more aspirin than his doctors recommend because he wants "thin blood" moving through his heart, and denied falling asleep in public meetings (NBC Washington; CTV News).

May 26, 2026 — The latest physical

After a three-hour visit to Walter Reed, the White House released a three-page report. It said Trump again scored 30 out of 30 on the MoCA and "remains in excellent health." It put his weight at 238 pounds, up 14 pounds from April 2025, noted slight lower-leg swelling that had improved since the previous year, called his bruising "a common and benign effect of aspirin therapy," and recommended he switch to low-dose aspirin (The New York Times, via The Philadelphia Inquirer; STAT).

June 14, 2026 — Trump turns 80

If he completes his term, Trump will be 82 when he leaves office in January 2029, the oldest sitting president in U.S. history.

What the White House has disclosed

  • Diagnoses: Chronic venous insufficiency in the legs.
  • Medications reported: Cholesterol drugs (Crestor and Zetia) and daily aspirin.
  • Cognitive screening: MoCA scores of 30/30 in 2018, 2025 and 2026.
  • Imaging: Heart and abdominal scan in October 2025, reported as normal.
  • Not released: Full medical records. Like most presidents, Trump has released physician summaries rather than detailed records.

Why questions persist

Public concern about Trump's health is as high as it has been, a physician told STAT in May 2026. Critics point to visible bruising that has sometimes been covered with makeup, moments in televised meetings when he appeared to struggle to keep his eyes open, and verbal slips in long speeches that circulate widely online. Dan Caine, the Air Force general Trump has nicknamed "Razin" in a frequently retold story, told senators at his 2025 confirmation hearing that he had never worn a MAGA hat, despite Trump's repeated claims that he had — Caine said the president had him confused with someone else (AP, via Yahoo News).

The White House says the president's schedule and physical results speak for themselves. Outside doctors note that physician summaries are selective by design, and that a perfect MoCA score is reassuring but limited.

Where things stand now

As of October 2026, the most recent official assessment of Trump's health is the May 2026 physical, which declared him fully fit to serve. Trump continues to cite his cognitive scores in public, and the White House has not released fuller medical records.

Sources