CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner discussed President Donald Trump's physical exam results on Friday, and one detail in particular stood out to him.
Reiner's Concerns About Repeated MOCA Testing
"I'll note again that it looks like they once again tested the president with the MOCA test," Reiner told anchor Abby Phillip, referring to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a test used to detect signs of cognitive decline and dementia. There are several versions of the MOCA test for people who need to take it more than once. But Reiner expressed skepticism about the utility of Trump's repeated test-taking.
"That's not really that useful when you take it over and over and over again, because the questions don't change that much," Reiner said.
Trump's History with the MOCA Test
Trump has bragged about taking, and acing, the test three times in the past, making this his fourth time. He's referred to the exams as "aptitude tests" and challenged his political opponents to take them as well.
White House Memo and Reiner's Response
The White House released a memo Friday recapping the results of Trump's medical examination. The memo stated that Trump's "cognitive function" was assessed with the MOCA and found to be "within normal limits" with a perfect score.
Reiner told Phillip, "Once you've taken it now four times, it's probably not that difficult to pretty easily get through it. It shouldn't be hard to get through it anyway, because it's a dementia screening test, it's not an IQ test."
