Trump has NO dementia: White House doctor says president had a perfect 30/30 score on cognitive screening test that Trump REQUESTED

  • White House has been beset with claims that the president is mentally impaired
  • Charges were leveled in 'Fire and Fury' book by author who says most of Trump's close aides fear he's not mentally capable to be president
  • Navy doctor Ronny Jackson examined Trump on Friday and added a cognitive screening test to the regimen because the president asked him to
  • Trump scored perfect 30 out of 30 on the test, ruling out Alzheimer's Disease or other cognitive impairment 
  • Jackson said this was the first time a sitting president has been given such a cognitive examination 

President Donald Trump's recent medical examination showed no indication of cognitive impairment or dementia, according to the physician who conducted and supervised it.

His White House physician, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson, added what he called 'a screening assessment for cognitive impairment' to Trump's annual health assessment. It resulted in a perfect score.

Based on his daily observations of the president, Jackson said, a mental screening would not normally be recommended.

But Trump himself asked for the test, he told reporters Tuesday at the White House.

Scroll down for video and to read the test

FIT TO SERVE: President Donald Trump does not suffer from any form of dementia or cognitive impairment, according to the U.S. Navy doctor who examined him on Friday

FIT TO SERVE: President Donald Trump does not suffer from any form of dementia or cognitive impairment, according to the U.S. Navy doctor who examined him on Friday

White House physician Ronny Jackson told reporters last month that he hadn't planned to perform a cognitive assessment of Trump, but the president specifically asked him to in order to put rumors to rest about his mental health

White House physician Ronny Jackson told reporters that he hadn't planned to perform a cognitive assessment of Trump, but the president specifically asked him to in order to put rumors to rest about his mental health

'I had absolutely no concerns about his cognitive ability or his – you know, his neurological function. So I was not going to do a cognitive exam. I had no intention of doing one,' Jackson recalled.

'The reason that we did the cognitive assessment is, plain and simple, because the president asked me to do it.'

'He came to me and he said, "Is there something we can do, a test or some type of screening that we can do, to assess my cognitive ability?" And so I looked into it,' Jackson said.

Trump scored a perfect 30 out of 30 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a standard test that helps primary care physicians spot early-onset Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of dementia.

Jackson said the test is 'sensitive enough' to identify any potential problems.

'It would pick up on it. He would not have gotten 30 out of 30 on the test,' Jackson declared.

'I'm very confident at this particular stage that he has nothing like that going on ... Absolutely no cognitive, mental issues whatsoever. He is very sharp.'

The White House has found itself beset with weeks of speculation about the president's mental state, largely resulting from an author's claim that most of Trump's close aides are concerned about his psychological fitness for office.

'That did drive part of the process,' Jackson said Tuesday. 'I think this has been the narrative for awhile, and I think he saw doing the physical as an opportunity to put some of that to rest.'

Trump 'wasn't, obviously, the least bit concerned that he had anything to hide,' he added, 'and so he actively asked me to include that in it, and so we did.'

The White House physician released detailed health reporting about Trump on Tuesday

The White House physician released detailed health reporting about Trump on Tuesday

Among Dr. Ronny Jackson's findings  were that Trump had normal neuro-physiology and a perfect score on a standard cognitive function screening test

Among Dr. Ronny Jackson's findings  were that Trump had normal neuro-physiology and a perfect score on a standard cognitive function screening test

Dr. Jackson says Trump's 'overall health is excellent' and that he's fit to serve in the Oval Office

Dr. Jackson says Trump's 'overall health is excellent' and that he's fit to serve in the Oval Office

Jackson said future cognitive testing would be up to the president, and that he personally wouldn't have recommended it this year.

'If the president wants to get one done next year, then we'll do another one next year,' he said.

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment is used at Walter Reed military hospital near Washington, D.C. it's a 30-question test that includes measures of short-term memory, concentration and attention.

A score of 26 or higher is considered 'normal.' In one study, test-takers with mild cognitive impairment typicallly scored 22. Alzheimer's patients scored an average of barely 16.

'We picked one of the ones that was a little more involved,' Jackson said of the Montreal test, comparing it to others he could have chosen. 'It was longer. It was the more difficult one of all of them.'

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment is a 30-question test that includes measures of short-term memory, concentration and attention

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment is a 30-question test that includes measures of short-term memory, concentration and attention

Michael Wolff

Adding a cognitive evaluation to Friday's comprehensive physical was a chance for the president to demonstrate claims by author Michael Wolff (above) that he's suffering from dementia are untrue

Dr. Jackson spoke to the press and took questions for nearly an hour on Tuesday

Dr. Jackson spoke to the press and took questions for nearly an hour on Tuesday

'It took significantly longer to complete but the president did exceedingly well on it.'

the doctor described Trump as 'very sharp' and sad 'he's very articulate when he speaks to me.'

'I've never known him to repeat himself around me. He says what he's got to say and he speaks his mind. I found no reason to think that the president has any issues whatsoever with his thought process.'

'Absolutely he is fit for duty,' he said of the president.

A number of psychiatrists, including a Yale doctor invited by congressional Democrats, have claimed Trump suffers from dementia-like symptoms that should be concerning enough to trigger an effort to remove him on constitutional grounds.

'People shouldn't be making those kinds of assessments about the president unless they've had the opportunity to get to know him and to examine him,' Jackson insisted. 

'And in my opinion, that's just tabloid psychiatry, and I'm not going to address it.'

Can YOU pass President Trump's cognitive test?

This is a copy of the sheet the examiner and patient fill out during the 10-minute test

President Donald Trump received a perfect score on a standard cognitive assessment test, his doctor revealed in a White House briefing.

The 10-minute test, known as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), was created in 1996 for medical professionals to identify mild cognitive dysfunction.

It assesses concentration, attention, memory, language, calculations, orientation, executive functions and visual skills.

Trump scored 30 out of 30. A score above 26 is deemed 'normal,' while anything lower than that is cause for concern.

Those who do well on the test do not need further cognitive examinstion.

The average score is 27.4. People with mild cognitive impairment score an average of 22.1, while Alzheimer's patients tend to score around 16.

First used in Montreal, Canada, the test is now one of the most respected methods of assessing cognitive health worldwide, available in 55 languages and dialects, and formats for testing illiterate patients and in other cultural settings (by changing certain references).

Trump is the first U.S. president to undergo the test as part of his presidential physical.

This is how a doctor performs the test, and how a patient is graded:

1. ALTERNATING TRAIL MAKING

TEST: The patient is told to pair up five numbers and letters (1-5, A-E) in ascending order (pairing 1 with A, 2 with B, etc) while drawing connect-the-dots lines.

RESULT: The patient gets a point for every successful pair: 1-A; 2-B; 3-C; 4-D; 5-E. No lines can be crossed. The patient earns 0 if they make a mistake that is not immediately corrected.

2. VISUOCONSTRUCTIONAL SKILLS (CUBE)

TEST: Draw your own version of the cube in the space next to it.

It must be exactly the same as the one printed on the page.

RESULT: One point if it is drawn correctly (i.e. three-dimensional, all lines are drawn, no line is added, lines are relatively parallel and their length is similar – no point if any of those criteria are missing).

3. VISUOCONSTRUCTIONAL SKILLS (CLOCK)

TEST: Draw a clock, putting in all the numbers and set the time to 10 minutes past 11 o'clock.

RESULT: One point is allocated for each of the following three criteria:

  • Contour (ONE POINT): the clock face must be a circle with only minor distortion acceptable (i.e. slight imperfection on closing the circle).
  • Numbers (ONE POINT): all clock numbers must be present with no additional numbers; numbers must be in the correct order and placed in the approximate quadrants on the clock face. Roman numerals are acceptable. Numbers can be placed outside the circle contour.
  • Hands (ONE POINT): there must be two hands jointly indicating the correct time; the hour hand must be clearly shorter than the minute hand. Hands must be centered within the clock face with their junction close to the clock center.

A point is not assigned for a given element if any of the above-criteria are not met.

4. NAMING

TEST: Name each animal.

  • Lion
  • Rhinoceros (or rhino)
  • Camel (or dromedary)

RESULT: One point for each

5. MEMORY

TEST: 

The doctor tells the patient that they are going to read a list of words that the patient must remember. At the end the patient has to tell them as many as they remember; it doesn't matter what order.

The doctor then reads five words, one per second:

FACE, VELVET, CHURCH, DAISY, RED

As the patient recites the words, the doctor marks a check in the box for each word said aloud.

The patient indicates when they have recalled all they can. 

The doctor reads the list a second time. At the end the patient has to recall all of them again. 

As the patient recites the words, the doctor marks a check in the box for each word said aloud – including the first five again.

The patient indicates when they have recalled all they can.

At the end of the test, the doctor asks the patient to recall the five words, unprompted. This is the part of the test that is scored. 

SCORING: No plus points, only minus if they get it wrong.

6. ATTENTION

TEST (NUMBERS):

Recall numbers: The doctor reads a list of five numbers at a rate of one number per second; the patient recalls them exactly as they were said:

2 1 8 5 4

Recall numbers backwards: The doctor reads three numbers at a rate of one number per second; the patient recalls them backwards:

7 4 2

SCORING: One point per sequence correctly recited.

 

TEST (LETTERS): The doctor reads a list of letters at a rate of one per second. Every time they say the letter 'A', the patient has to tap their hand:

F B A C M N A A J K L B A F A K D E A A A J A M O F A A B

SCORING: One point if there is zero errors or just one error (i.e. the patient tapped their hand on another letter just once).

 

TEST (MATH): The patient starts at 100, then must count down by subtracting seven every time, until the examiner tells them to stop:

  • 93
  • 86
  • 79
  • 72
  • 65 

SCORING: Total of three points.

  • No points if there are no correct subtractions
  • One point for just one correct subtractions 
  • Two points for two or three correct subtractions
  • Three points for four or five correct subtractions

If the first subtraction is wrong, but each subsequent subtraction follows the pattern of seven, they still earn every other point. For example, they may say '92 – 85 – 78 – 71 – 64'. While '92' is incorrect, all subsequent numbers are subtracted by seven, meaning they only made one mistake, and would a score of three.

7. SENTENCE REPETITION

TEST:

Step one: The examiner reads this sentence, and the patient has to repeat it exactly: 'I only know that John is the one to help today'.

Step two: The examiner then reads another sentence, with the same instruction: 'The cat always hid under the couch when dogs were in the room'.

SCORING: One point for each correct sentence.

  • Exact repetition
  • No synonyms substituted (i.e. it must be 'hid' not 'hides')

8. VERBAL FLUENCY

TEST: The doctor reads out a letter (F), and the patient has to think of words that starts with that letter. The aim is to reach 11 words or more in 60 seconds.

  • The words cannot be proper nouns, like Bob or Boston
  • The words cannot be the same sounding word but with different suffixes (like love, lover, loving)

SCORING: One point if they reach 11 words or more in one minute.

9. ABSTRACTION

TEST: The patient has to describe what the relationship is between certain words (i.e, an orange and a banana; a train and a bicycle; a ruler and a watch).

There is one practice trial (ORANGE AND BANANA) before two scored pairs (TRAIN AND BICYCLE; WATCH AND RULER).

SCORING: One point for each of the last two pairs.

Acceptable answers:

  • Train and bicycle: means of transport, means of traveling, used to take trips
  • Ruler and watch: means of measurement, measuring instruments

Unacceptable answers:

  • Train and bicycle: they have wheels
  • Ruler and watch: they have numbers

10. DELAYED RECALL

TEST: The patient has to recall all the words they heard earlier (FACE, VELVET, CHURCH, DAISY, RED).

SCORING: One point for each word recalled (with no cues from the examiner).

11. ORIENTATION

TEST: Say the exact date, and the name of the place they are in, including the city.

SCORING: One point for each correct answer. No points if they make any errors.

TOTAL SCORE:

Add up all the points accumulating, adding a point if the patient has fewer than 12 years of formal educations.

  • Around 16: cognitive health of an Alzheimer's patient
  • Around 22: cognitive health of someone with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
  • Above 26: Normal
  • 30: Perfect score (Trump scored 30/30).  

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