Which doctors administered Donald Trump's MoCA and did they publish the results?
Executive summary
Medical reporting from April and October 2025 states that President Donald Trump was given the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) during his Walter Reed physicals and that White House physician Sean Barbabella (and other Walter Reed clinicians) reported a perfect 30/30 score; the publicly released exam summary described a normal MoCA and a comprehensive neurologic exam [1] [2]. Available sources identify Sean Barbabella as the White House physician who supervised the 2025 exam and who released the memo; they say the MoCA score was reported publicly but do not show a full primary-data publication of the raw test booklet or item‑level results [1] [3] [4].
1. Who administered the MoCA and who released the score? — Official memos and news summaries
The April 2025 Walter Reed physical was performed and supervised by White House physician Sean Barbabella, and the exam summary released to the press explicitly states cognitive function was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) with a score of 30/30; media outlets repeating the White House memo cite Barbabella’s statement and the Walter Reed summary [1] [2]. The Hill and other outlets also report that Barbabella and Walter Reed clinicians confirmed administering the MoCA in 2018 and again in 2025 and reported a 30/30 score [3].
2. Were individual clinicians beyond Barbabella named as test administrators? — Public reporting is limited
News reports and the official exam summary name Sean Barbabella as the physician who performed and supervised the comprehensive exam, but the sources do not list a detailed roster of every clinician who directly administered the MoCA [1] [2]. The Hill notes “doctors” confirmed they administered the MoCA in 2018 and 2025 but does not provide a public, itemized list of every person who gave the test face‑to‑face [3]. Available sources do not mention an explicit, published list of every administering clinician.
3. Were the full test results or test materials published? — Score public, item‑level data not published in reporting
The White House/Walter Reed summary and multiple media stories published the headline result — a perfect 30/30 on the MoCA — and the memo summarized that neurological exam findings were normal [1] [2]. Those sources published the overall score and narrative summary but did not publish raw, item‑level MoCA responses, the specific test version used (beyond “MoCA”), or the completed test instrument itself in the public record cited here [1] [3]. Thus the published material shows the total score and clinical summary but not the primary test sheet or a peer‑reviewed data release.
4. What do experts and test developers say about publishing or interpreting MoCA results? — Context on use and limits of the MoCA
Reporting reiterates that the MoCA is a screening tool for mild cognitive impairment and early dementia, designed to be administered by trained professionals and usually taking about 10 minutes; its developer has emphasized it is not an IQ test [3] [4] [5]. Several outlets note that public discussion of the test can affect future administrations (e.g., media listing questions may bias later test‑takers) and that the MoCA’s score must be interpreted with clinical context, education, language and test version in mind [6] [5].
5. Competing viewpoints and potential agendas — Political framing vs. clinical transparency
News coverage shows two competing emphases: the White House and its physician framed the MoCA result as evidence of normal cognition and fitness (reporting the 30/30 score and normal neurologic exam) while critics and some commentators warn that the MoCA is a brief screening measure and that a public one‑line score cannot substitute for more detailed cognitive testing or peer‑reviewed data [1] [6]. Political actors have used the result as a rhetorical tool; outlets highlight that Trump himself sometimes described the test as an “IQ test,” a characterization the MoCA’s developer and clinicians reject [4] [7]. These differences reflect an implicit agenda: White House messaging emphasizes fitness; independent clinicians and media note limits of a single screening score for broad claims about cognitive health [2] [6].
6. What remains unknown from the cited reporting — data gaps and transparency questions
Available reporting confirms the MoCA was given and a total score of 30/30 reported publicly, but the cited sources do not show release of the completed test form, item‑by‑item responses, which exact MoCA version was used, or a named list of every clinician who administered the test beyond the supervising physician [1] [3]. If you are seeking full primary test materials or peer‑reviewed cognitive assessment data, available sources do not mention such a publication [1] [2].
7. Bottom line for readers — what the documents prove and what they don’t
The official Walter Reed/White House memos and mainstream reporting prove that clinicians at Walter Reed assessed President Trump with the MoCA and publicly reported a perfect 30/30 and a normal neurologic exam [1] [2]. They do not, in the articles cited here, provide an itemized test record, the raw test instrument, or a comprehensive release of primary data or clinician signatures beyond the supervising physician’s memo — gaps that matter to clinicians and to readers seeking full transparency [1] [3].