Desk : U.S. President Donald Trump has responded sharply to criticism regarding his mental fitness, saying the insult he dislikes most is being called “dumb,” while expressing little concern about being labeled in more extreme political terms.
Speaking at a rally in New York on Friday, the current President said that questioning his intelligence bothers him the most, and he even claimed he had undergone medical testing to prove critics wrong.
“I’m the smartest guy you’re ever going to meet,” Trump told supporters. “And don’t you want to have a smart person as president?”
Although the rally was primarily focused on affordability issues, Trump repeatedly shifted to discussing his mental sharpness and past medical evaluations. He recalled a conversation with his doctor following criticism of his cognitive abilities, saying opponents had called him “a dumb person.”
“I said, ‘Doctor, I don’t mind being called a brilliant tyrant dictator, but I don’t want to be called dumb,’” Trump said.
He further stated that he asked his doctor whether there was a test he could take to prove critics wrong, and was told about a cognitive assessment. Trump claimed he has taken the test multiple times and “aced” it each time.
Trump has also argued that cognitive testing should be mandatory for presidential and vice-presidential candidates before entering elections.
According to The Daily Beast, Dr. Henry David Abraham, professor emeritus at Tufts University School of Medicine, raised concerns about repeated testing in short intervals. The report also noted that the Montreal Cognitive Assessment is commonly used as a dementia screening tool.
Former Johns Hopkins University professor Dr. John Gartner has claimed there are signs of cognitive decline in Trump, though this view is not based on any publicly confirmed medical evaluation.
On the other hand, Trump’s supporters have defended him. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth praised him as one of the “sharpest” and “most insightful” commanders-in-chief in recent years.