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Has Donald J. Trump ever published an IQ test score?
Executive Summary
Donald J. Trump has not published an official IQ test score, and there is no credible evidence that he ever released results from a standardized IQ test; claims circulating online that assign him a numerical IQ (for example, 73) are unverified and debunked by fact-checkers. Recent reporting shows Trump has publicly touted a perfect score on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment—a brief dementia screening—but that instrument is not an IQ test and its creator says it should not be used to infer an IQ, leaving the core claim that Trump “published an IQ score” unsupported [1] [2].
1. How the “IQ score” claim spread and why it fails basic verification
Multiple viral graphics and social posts have claimed a specific IQ number for Trump, but fact-checking investigations found no primary documentation, contemporaneous reporting, or credible archival record showing he ever released an IQ score publicly. Fact-checkers traced a popular image asserting an IQ of 73 to fabricated or misattributed materials and noted the absence of any verifiable test result from a recognized IQ instrument linked to Trump; the claim survives only on social media repetition and image-based memes rather than on authenticated documents [1]. The absence of primary evidence—no published test report, no proctored Mensa-type confirmation, and no medical or academic record—means the assertion fails standard verification practices and should be treated as false until credible documentation appears.
2. What Trump actually cited: the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and why it’s not the same
Trump has publicly referenced taking and “acing” the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) during a medical examination; the test is a brief cognitive screening designed to detect dementia-related impairment, not to measure intelligence quotient. The test’s creator, Dr. Ziad Nasreddine, has explicitly stated the MoCA is not an IQ instrument and does not provide an IQ score, a point widely reported in coverage that distinguishes cognitive screening results from standardized intelligence testing [2]. Conflating a dementia screen with an IQ test misstates the nature and purpose of the instrument and explains why claims equating Trump’s MoCA result with an IQ number are scientifically and methodologically wrong.
3. Historical context: presidents, IQ claims, and the culture of boasting
Presidential candidates and officeholders frequently make assertions about intelligence without providing verifiable evidence; Trump’s repeated self-descriptions of being highly intelligent and the “very stable genius” remarks fit a broader pattern in political rhetoric where prestige is signaled without releasing standardized test data. Past offers from groups such as Mensa to administer IQ tests to political figures have produced no publicized, authenticated IQ scores for presidents, and scholars note that intelligence testing has not been part of official presidential records, so the absence of a published IQ for Trump is consistent with historical norms [3]. The political incentive to claim high intelligence coupled with the private nature of testing produces persistent but unverifiable assertions.
4. Recent fact-checks and reporting: dates and sources that matter
Multiple recent fact-checks and news articles from June through October 2025 examined viral claims about Trump’s IQ and uniformly found no evidence of a published IQ score; investigations specifically debunked the “73” graphic and clarified the MoCA misunderstanding, citing experts and original test developers [1] [2]. Reporting dates are relevant: the debunking of the numeric-IQ memes appeared in mid-2025, while detailed explainers distinguishing cognitive screens from IQ tests ran in late October 2025 after Trump publicly referenced the MoCA; those timelines show the misinformation preceded and outlived clarifying journalism [1] [2]. The chronological record shows correction attempts followed initial viral claims, but corrections did not fully halt the spread of false numeric attributions.
5. What remains unproven and what would count as proof
No publicly available, authenticated IQ test report bearing Trump’s name, administration, testing conditions, and scoring from a recognized IQ instrument exists in the public record; that absence is the key factual point. Verified proof would require release of an original, dated test report from a legitimate IQ battery (WAIS, Stanford-Binet, etc.) with documented administration details or an official statement from a qualified testing authority confirming and publishing the score with provenance. Without such documentation, any numeric IQ assigned in media or social posts is not evidence-based, and the most reliable current conclusion is that Trump has not published an IQ score.
6. Competing narratives and potential agendas to watch
Misinformation proponents benefit by assigning low or high IQ numbers depending on partisan aims, while Trump’s own team has incentive to highlight cognitive-screening results as proof of fitness; both dynamics distort public understanding by conflating different tests and amplifying unverified claims. Fact-checkers and mainstream outlets emphasize methodological distinctions and seek to correct the record, but corrections often struggle against viral content and partisan amplification [1] [2]. Understanding motives—political signaling, reputational defense, or deliberate misinformation—helps explain why the unsupported IQ claims persist, and underscores the need for documentary proof rather than repeated assertion.