Are there documented instances of cognitive testing for other US presidents and how do they compare?
Executive summary
Public reporting shows that recent presidents have received different kinds of cognitive or neurological evaluations but routine, published cognitive test scores are rare; President Trump has repeatedly been reported as taking versions of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in 2018 and 2025, according to multiple outlets [1] [2] [3], while President Biden’s camp has emphasized annual neurologic exams without publicly releasing MoCA-like screening results [4] [5]. Available sources do not provide systematic, comparable cognitive-test score histories across modern presidents such as Obama, George W. Bush, or Reagan [6].
1. What the public record actually shows about recent presidents
Reporting documents that Donald Trump has undergone MoCA-style screening at least twice — coverage notes Trump’s 2018 and 2025 MoCA administrations and his own comments about taking the test during Walter Reed visits [1] [2] [3]. By contrast, on Joe Biden the public record largely cites that he receives annual neurological exams and that his physician has said he doesn’t need routine cognitive screening; major outlets emphasize that Biden’s team has not routinely released the sort of MoCA screening details Trump’s physicians have discussed [4] [5].
2. Other presidents and the silence in the record
Former White House physician Jeffrey Kuhlman and other reporting note that presidents such as Barack Obama and George W. Bush did not undergo publicly noted formal cognitive screening during their terms, and that there is no standard protocol requiring such tests for presidents [6]. Coverage compiled by medical and news outlets finds no systematic dataset of cognitive-test administrations across presidencies; available sources do not mention routine, comparable cognitive tests for most past presidents [6].
3. What the tests reported are — and what they measure
News reports repeatedly identify the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) as the 10–30 minute screening referenced in coverage: the MoCA screens domains like memory, attention, executive function and visuospatial skills and is intended to detect mild cognitive impairment rather than measure intelligence [7] [8] [9]. Journalists and medical writers caution — and reporting reiterates — that such screening tools are not definitive diagnostic instruments and are typically used to flag the need for more comprehensive assessment [10] [7].
4. How comparisons are limited and why
Comparing presidents is hindered by uneven disclosure: Trump’s camps and physicians have publicly referenced and described specific cognitive testing, while Biden’s team has released neurologic exam summaries but not standardized MoCA results, and most past presidents were not publicly given such screenings or their results were not released [1] [4] [6]. Journalists note there is no legal requirement that presidents undergo standardized cognitive testing or that results be published, so any comparative claims rest on sparse, self-selected disclosures [5] [6].
5. Political context and competing narratives
Media pieces show cognitive testing has become a political flashpoint: advocates call for mandatory transparency while political allies frame routine daily presidential duties as evidence of cognitive fitness [5] [9]. Reporting also records that opponents use test anecdotes to argue either competence or decline — meaning medical details are often interpreted through partisan lenses rather than purely clinical ones [4] [8].
6. What authoritative sources say about limits of these tests
News analyses emphasize that MoCA and similar screens are designed to detect early impairment, not to provide a full clinical diagnosis or a single “fitness for office” verdict; public-health reporting underscores that test results require clinical context and follow-up to be meaningful [7] [10]. AP and other outlets therefore caution against overinterpreting passing or failing brief screens when assessing a president’s overall cognitive capacity [4] [10].
7. Bottom line for readers seeking comparison
There are documented instances of cognitive screening for recent presidents, most prominently publicized MoCA administrations for Trump and neurologic exams described for Biden, but no comprehensive, standardized record exists for presidents generally—so direct, apples-to-apples comparisons across administrations are not possible from available reporting [1] [4] [6]. If you want meaningful comparison, reporting shows you’ll need either a consistent public policy requiring standardized testing and disclosure or release of full exam results from multiple administrations — neither of which the current record shows [5] [6].