Is Trump's IQ 89
Executive summary
There is no credible evidence that Donald Trump’s IQ is 89; in fact no verified, standard IQ score for Trump has ever been produced in the public record, and multiple fact‑checks and reporting note that claimed scores circulating online are unverified or false [1] [2] [3]. Scholarly treatments of presidential IQ emphasize that historians and analysts routinely estimate or speculate about leaders’ intelligence but lack certified test scores for most presidents, making precise numeric claims unreliable [4].
1. The core claim — “Is Trump’s IQ 89?” — cannot be substantiated by any verified test result
There is no authoritative record showing Donald Trump took and publicly released the results of a standardized IQ test that produced a score of 89, and major summaries of the question say no verified score exists and that Trump has not released an IQ figure himself [1] [3]. Because the standard scientific route to knowing an IQ is a psychometrically validated test administered under controlled conditions, absent that documentation, a specific number such as 89 is simply an unsubstantiated allegation rather than an evidentiary conclusion [1].
2. Popular figures and viral images have repeatedly misrepresented or fabricated scores
Repeated viral claims purporting to show low IQ scores for Trump — including an oft‑shared image alleging a 73 score from a school test — have been debunked by fact‑checkers who found no original reporting or institutional confirmation and called those memes false [2]. Similarly, various graphs and lists asserting high or low IQs for public figures often rely on indirect estimation methods, misapplied statistics, or simply invented citations, and therefore cannot be treated as proof [5] [1].
3. Some estimates exist but are methodological extrapolations, not measured scores
Researchers and commentators have used historiometric techniques or inferences from educational records and public performance to estimate intelligence for historical or living figures, producing widely divergent results — for example, dramatically high speculative numbers in some analyses — but these are estimations rather than measured IQs and should be read as such [5] [4]. Reporting that treats those numbers as hard facts obscures the methodological gap between estimation and a psychometric assessment [1].
4. Context matters: clinical screens are not the same as IQ tests
The only documented cognitive test openly associated with Trump in mainstream reporting is a Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) administered as a brief screening tool in a clinical exam, which is not a full IQ battery and therefore cannot be converted reliably into an IQ score; sources stressing that no verified IQ exists point this out [1]. Relying on such screenings or on public boasts and insults about “IQ” in political rhetoric is methodologically unsound for producing a numeric IQ claim like 89 [3] [1].
5. Why the number 89 circulates and what it signifies in public debate
Low numeric claims catch attention because they frame a political narrative about competence, and social media environments amplify fabricated or decontextualized images and charts that fit partisan expectations [2]. Scholars warn that obsessing over a single IQ figure for leaders misses more relevant dimensions of presidential effectiveness and cognition; the academic literature argues that even if precise IQs were known for presidents, other traits and situational factors are far more determinative of governance outcomes [4].
Conclusion
The evidence base required to assert “Trump’s IQ is 89” does not exist in the public record; mainstream reporting and fact‑checks conclude no verified IQ score has been released and viral numbers have been debunked or are based on dubious estimation methods, so the claim cannot be supported [1] [2] [3] [5] [4]. Alternative viewpoints do exist — some sources publish speculative high or low estimates — but these are methodological extrapolations, not psychometrically validated scores, and must be treated accordingly [5] [1].