--- title: Donald Trump's Mental Health Exam Doesn't Show What He Says description: President Donald Trump bragged that he scored 30 out of 30 on a cognitive test during his physical, but it doesn't show what he says. canonical: https://time.com/5106569/donald-trump-mental-health-exam/ author: Chris Wilson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-17T23:17:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T08:46:29.348Z article:section: Politics og:title: What Donald Trump's Mental Health Exam Doesn't Tell Us og:description: He bragged that he "scored the highest," but it doesn't work that way og:url: https://time.com/5106569/donald-trump-mental-health-exam/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a5fc48360f4888a/6988f86597cdff73d96b3f3c/ronny-jackson.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3520 og:image:height: 1980 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-TRUMP og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Donald Trump's Mental Health Exam Doesn't Tell Us twitter:description: He bragged that he "scored the highest," but it doesn't work that way twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a5fc48360f4888a/6988f86597cdff73d96b3f3c/ronny-jackson.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What Donald Trump's Mental Health Exam Doesn't Tell Us > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=03b0783f-a412-4271-a90f-dd8b96f79862&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Weekdays | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Weekly | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Twice a week | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | Source: TIME, August 2026. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=03b0783f-a412-4271-a90f-dd8b96f79862&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=03b0783f-a412-4271-a90f-dd8b96f79862&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (health, weekdays), Worth Your Time (culture, weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, twice weekly), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=03b0783f-a412-4271-a90f-dd8b96f79862&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Donald Trump Is in Good Physical and Mental Health, White House Doctor Says [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump Is in Good Physical and Mental Health, White House Doctor Says](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QGu4aIld.m3u8) (2:09)  _Published 2018-01-16. Donald Trump Is in Good Physical and Mental Health, White House Doctor Says_  by [Chris Wilson](https://time.com/author/chris-wilson/)  ## Chris Wilson Jan 17, 2018 11:17 PM UTC  by [Chris Wilson](https://time.com/author/chris-wilson/)  ## Chris Wilson Jan 17, 2018 11:17 PM UTC The White House physician reported Tuesday that [President Trump is in “excellent” overall health](http://time.com/5104183/donald-trump-health-ronny-jackson/?xid=homepage) based on a four-hour examination. At Trump’s request, said Dr. Ronny Jackson, this included a common test of cognitive ability on which the President reportedly scored a perfect 30 out of 30. Trump, who has [famously bragged about his intelligence on Twitter](http://time.com/5091242/trump-michael-wolff/), wasted no time in brandishing his score. In an [interview with Reuters Wednesday](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-exclusive/exclusive-trump-says-russia-helping-north-korea-skirt-sanctions-pyongyang-getting-close-on-missile-idUSKBN1F62KO?utm%5Fsource=twitter&utm%5Fmedium=Social), he blamed his three most recent predecessors for their failure regarding North Korea, and said, “I guess they all realized they were going to have to leave it to a president that scored the highest on tests.” The 15-minute exam that Jackson administered is called the [Montreal Cognitive Assessment](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.53221.x/full), or MoCA, and is widely used to test for early signs of diseases like Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. None of the questions are difficult for someone who does not suffer from cognitive impairment, but “the test is very sensitive to early stages of these conditions,” says Dr. Ziad Nasreddine, who [developed the assessment in 1996](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/01/17/trumps-cognitive-test-was-created-by-a-lebanese-immigrant-to-canada/?utm%5Fterm=.1aba2dfa5de2). “It’s unlikely that \[Trump\] has dementia or Alzheimer’s.” Unlikely, but not impossible, says [Dr. Paul J. Moberg](https://www.med.upenn.edu/bbl/staff-moberg.html), the clinical director of neuropsychology service at the University of Pennsylvania’s medical school. “Just because a person gets a 30 out of 30 doesn’t mean you wouldn’t pick up even very significant impairments in further testing,” he said. “A more comprehensive neurological exam would be required to really tease that out.” In some cases, he said, families might bring in a patient because he or she is demonstrating clear signs of dementia, such as memory loss or confusion, and the patient will ace the MoCA — only to be confirmed as having a serious deficit when given a comprehensive test that can take anywhere from three hours to a day. “The MoCA is a wonderful cognitive screening test. But that’s what it is: a screening test,” says Moberg’s colleague David R. Roalf, a research assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania Department of Psychiatry. “It doesn’t necessarily speak to competency, per se.” Moberg agreed: “A screening measure is not enough to assess competency.” Why Trump requested the test is unclear, though he is undoubtedly aware that many of his critics have questioned whether he is mentally competent to be commander-in-chief. The [most rigorous armchair psychiatry](https://www.statnews.com/2017/05/23/donald-trump-speaking-style-interviews/) came from a publication that collected many hours of footage of interviews Trump has given since the 1980s and then consulted a battery of experts, some of whom suggested changes in his speech patterns strongly suggest cognitive decline. Other long-range diagnoses include narcissistic personality disorder, though at least one expert has [both concurred with that assessment and suggested](http://time.com/4928984/donald-trump-mental-illness/) it does not impair Trump’s competency. The MoCA assigns 11 tasks that test different cognitive skills. The first question, for example, poses to the examinee: “Please draw a line, going from a number to a letter in ascending order,” using the following image:  A few questions later, the test-taker is asked to name three animals:  (“Dromedary,” which is [specifically a one-hump camel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dromedary), is an acceptable answer to the third picture.) Jackson himself clarified in his [briefing with reporters on the President’s health](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-sarah-sanders-and-dr-ronny-jackson-01162018/) that the exam is only “a screening assessment for cognitive impairment,” not a detailed survey of any sort. In other words, Trump cannot wave his cognitive report card and silence all skeptics, but neither should those skeptics ignore the results of his screening — if they should be speculating on his mental health at all, [which the American Psychiatric Association discourages its members from doing](https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/apa-blog/2017/03/apa-remains-committed-to-supporting-goldwater-rule). Only a more thorough exam would shed definitive light on the President’s cognitive prowess. It appears unlikely. Jackson said the President’s score “does rule out the need to do any other cognitive testing.” This could still happen if Trump requested it, but it not standard practice to assess a President’s mental health during his annual physical. **Note:** Though easy to find online, the MoCA is copyrighted by its developer, who requests that only excerpts be reprinted so that it won’t become too commonly recognizable when used. TIME is using the above screenshots with permission. ## Transcript The president's overall health is excellent. His cardiac performance during his physical exam was very good. He continues to enjoy the significant long- term cardiac and overall health benefits that come from a lifetime of abstinence from tobacco and alcohol. We discussed diet, exercise, and weight loss. He would benefit from a diet that is lower in fat and carbohydrates and from a routine excercise regimen. It for any type of cognitive issues, Alzheimer's and all those other things and so the fact that the president got 30 out of 30 on that exam I think there's no indication whatsoever that he has any cognitive issues. There was an incident recently where the president apepared to Slur his words while giving an address. Did you look into what the cause of that might have been at all? I did. We talked about that. And actually, one of my EMT consultants was involved in that. We evaluated him. We checked everything out. And everything was normal. We even went so far as to do an ultra sound of his proatile glands and a few other things. And there was absolutely no clinical findings that would suggest I think the reason for that was quite honestly, me being up here right now I think I need a drink of water. I think that I had given the President some medication. Specifically some Sudafed on the days previous. I think that I had inadvertently kind of dried up his secretions a little bit more than I. I intended to and I think that to our Deputy Secretary. What is this daily exercise for [ UNKNOWN ] So I would say [ UNKNOWN ] on a day- to- day basis he doesn't have a dedicated, defined exercise program and that That's what I'm working on, the good part is that we can build on that pretty easily. One of the things is, I'm getting nutrition specialist to come up here and meet with the chefs that we have here and their gonna go over the preparation of the president's food. Just to make sure that we're cutting the calories and the fats and the carbohydrates as much as we possibly can, we're still making a good meals for him With regards to the exercise, that's something that myself, and potentially Mrs. Trump will work with him upstairs. There's a gentlemen upstairs, and we'll get that set up to his specifications, and we'll see how that goes. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5106569/donald-trump-mental-health-exam/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5106569/donald-trump-mental-health-exam/"},"headline":"What Donald Trump's Mental Health Exam Doesn't Tell Us","datePublished":"2018-01-17T23:17:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-12T08:46:29.348Z","description":"He bragged that he \"scored the highest\"","url":"https://time.com/5106569/donald-trump-mental-health-exam/","keywords":["Donald Trump","White House","health"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a5fc48360f4888a/6988f86597cdff73d96b3f3c/ronny-jackson.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chris Wilson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/chris-wilson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a5fc48360f4888a/6988f86597cdff73d96b3f3c/ronny-jackson.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-POLITICS-TRUMP","caption":"US-POLITICS-TRUMP","creditText":"Nicholas Kamm—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5106569/donald-trump-mental-health-exam/","name":"What Donald Trump's Mental Health Exam Doesn't Tell Us"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Donald Trump Is in Good Physical and Mental Health, White House Doctor Says","description":"Donald Trump Is in Good Physical and Mental Health, White House Doctor Says","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/QGu4aIld/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-01-16T22:39:14.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QGu4aIld.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5106569/donald-trump-mental-health-exam/","duration":"PT2M9S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5106569/donald-trump-mental-health-exam/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```