Has Donald Trump ever released an official IQ score or taken a public IQ test?
Executive summary
Donald Trump has never released an officially documented IQ score, and there is no credible public record showing he has taken a bona fide IQ test that produced an authoritative, published score [1] [2]. He has, however, publicly referenced and been reported to have taken brief cognitive screenings—most notably the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)—which doctors and specialists say are not IQ tests [3] [4].
1. Short answer: no confirmed, official IQ score has been released
Multiple fact‑checking organizations and news outlets report there is no evidence that President Trump has an official, publicly released IQ score; claims purporting specific numbers—for example, an image claiming a 73 IQ score—have been debunked as fabrications and lack sourcing or documentary support [1] [5] [2]. Journalistic and fact‑check reporting conclude there has been no verifiable news coverage of any official IQ score for Trump [1] [2].
2. False specifics: the 73 and 156 claims are unverified or false
Viral posts and memes claiming Trump scored 73 on an IQ test administered during his youth have been shown to be invented: Politifact and Full Fact traced the 73‑IQ story to fabricated images and unsupported claims and rated them false [5] [1]. Separate viral claims placing Trump’s IQ at very high values (for example, 156) rely on speculative historiometric methods or dubious sources rather than an actual administered test result, and have likewise been shown to be unsubstantiated [6] [7].
3. He has taken cognitive screening tests—important, but not the same as IQ tests
Medical reporting notes Trump publicly referenced having “aced” repeated cognitive evaluations and physicians have reported MoCA scores (Montreal Cognitive Assessment) in public statements; for instance, physicians have cited MoCA scores of 30 in clinical notes and media accounts [3]. Neuroscience experts emphasize the MoCA is a brief screening tool intended to detect mild cognitive impairment, not an instrument designed to measure general intelligence or produce an IQ score, and so MoCA results should not be equated with an IQ test result [3].
4. Public boasts, perception, and what’s been measured
Trump has frequently boasted about his intelligence and disparaged opponents as “low IQ,” which has amplified public interest and speculation about his IQ; polling and perception studies capture how Americans rate public figures’ intelligence, but those reflect opinion, not test results [8]. Media pieces and opinion sites have both amplified and critiqued these boasts, but that amplification does not substitute for documented, standardized IQ testing [4] [7].
5. Why the ambiguity persists: incentives, misinformation, and limits of public records
There is no legal requirement for a president or candidate to release an IQ score, and when scores surface for public figures they are frequently unofficial, estimated, or misattributed—creating an environment where memes and partisan claims flourish [7] [5]. Fact‑checkers warn that emotionally resonant or partisan narratives—either to praise or to demean—drive circulation of invented numbers, and those agendas should be recognized when evaluating viral claims [5] [2].
Conclusion
In plain terms: no verifiable, official IQ score has been released for Donald Trump, and while he has undergone and publicly referenced cognitive screening tests such as the MoCA, those are designed to detect impairment and are not substitutes for a formal, published IQ test result [1] [3] [2]. Reporting is consistent across fact‑checks, medical commentary, and mainstream outlets that specific viral IQ claims lack documentary support [5] [6].