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Fact check: Did Donald Trump release the results of his Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) or any cognitive exam and when?
Executive Summary
Donald Trump has publicly asserted that he took and “aced” a dementia screening commonly identified as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), but no verified, full MoCA score or complete cognitive-test report has been publicly released; news coverage and official summaries report claims and partial statements without posting the exam results [1] [2] [3]. Reporting across multiple outlets from 2018 through late 2025 confirms that Trump underwent cognitive screening during routine physicals, that his team or physicians stated he performed well, and that journalists found no published, verifiable MoCA score sheet or detailed cognitive-exam packet in the public record [4] [5].
1. The claim that grabbed headlines and what people are actually saying
Multiple public statements and interviews attribute to Donald Trump a claim that he took a cognitive screening test and answered all questions correctly, often described as “acing” the MoCA. That claim appears in contemporaneous coverage and later reporting noting Trump’s statements that he “got every answer right,” and that the test was administered during annual physicals at Walter Reed or as part of presidential health checkups [3] [5]. Media outlets and the test’s creator both cautioned against interpreting the MoCA as an IQ test, while physicians involved with Trump’s care have summarized that he passed a screening; those summaries do not equate to publication of the actual test results or the scored instrument itself [2] [1].
2. What the timeline of testing and disclosures looks like
Public records show a pattern: in April 2018, Trump voluntarily underwent the MoCA as part of a January 2018 health evaluation and his physician reported a normal result, commonly summarized as 30/30 in press narratives, though the underlying test sheet was not released [4] [1]. Subsequent years saw intermittent media references to cognitive testing during annual physicals with Trump reiterating that he answered everything correctly; news coverage in 2025 repeated his claims but again noted the absence of an official, full release of the MoCA answer sheet or raw score report [3] [5] [6]. A White House release in April 2025 provided broad physical and neurological exam summaries but did not publish detailed MoCA item-level results [4].
3. How reporters, physicians, and the test’s author frame the evidence
Journalists have reported both the claim and the lack of documentation: New York Times coverage in 2018 noted the test was given and results were not publicly released, while later outlets in 2025 reiterated that physicians said he “passed” without publishing the scorecard [1] [5]. The MoCA’s creator, Dr. Ziad Nasreddine, emphasized the test’s purpose and limitations, clarifying it is a dementia screening tool and not a measure of IQ, a distinction repeated in reporting that critiqued Trump’s characterization of the exam as an “IQ test” [2]. These statements show a consistent pattern: clinicians and experts discuss utility and limits, while official publications of the exam’s results remain absent.
4. Direct official disclosures — what was and was not released
Official medical summaries and White House health releases have described that cognitive screening occurred and that physicians deemed Trump cognitively intact, but they stop short of publishing the MoCA instrument, item-by-item responses, or a certified score sheet in the public domain [4] [1]. Media accounts from 2018 to 2025 note physicians’ assertions—phrased as “passed” or “normal” performance—but no contemporaneous, authenticated release of the MoCA results or raw scoring appears in the public record provided by the analyses. This distinction between physician summary statements and release of underlying test documentation is central to questions about transparency and verification [3] [6].
5. Why coverage differs and what motives shape narratives
Differences in reporting reflect distinct agendas: some pieces emphasize Trump’s self-reported confidence and political messaging, others focus on clinical caveats from experts and the absence of document-level proof; news outlets sometimes conflate screening performance with broader cognitive claims, while physicians and test developers urge technical restraint [2] [6]. The repetition of a “30/30” summary in public discourse appears to originate from physician statements and media condensation rather than a released exam sheet, meaning political actors may amplify reassuring summaries while clinicians avoid overinterpreting a screening tool [1] [5].
6. Bottom line for readers seeking verification
The verifiable fact pattern is straightforward: Donald Trump said he took and did well on a cognitive screening often identified as the MoCA; physicians and White House summaries reported he “passed” or had normal cognitive screening results; however, no authenticated MoCA score sheet or full cognitive-exam results have been publicly released according to the sources available in this analysis [1] [5] [4]. Readers should treat summary claims of “acing” an exam as statements by the subject and those reporting physicians unless or until the raw, itemized results or an official, third-party release appear in the public record.