President Donald Trump has a habit of turning even the most routine White House moments into strange, self-focused performances — and his long-running obsession with “acing” cognitive tests has become a familiar part of the spectacle.
At yet another official event, where he was drifting in and out of sleep, Trump once again found a way to boast about passing the exams, which are typically used to screen for cognitive decline, not to showcase intelligence.
Trump claimed to have passed at least three of the tests in the past nine months, often speaking about them as if they were IQ exams. And on Wednesday, Jan. 14, during a bill-signing ceremony in the Oval Office, Trump brought up the topic once more.
During the signing ceremony for the Whole Milk For Healthy Kids Act, Trump reunited with his old pal and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development during his first term, Dr. Ben Carson, to tout the benefits of drinking whole fat milk.
“It’s the thing that’s absolutely essential for bone development and teeth, but as a neurosurgeon, the thing I really like is what it does for the brain,” Carson stated as he stood behind a seated Trump who was visibly struggling to stay awake at the Resolute Desk, with other Cabinet members, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. and members of the diary lobby.
Several young children were also standing next to Trump as a token symbol of the benefits of drinking whole milk, even though scientific evidence shows whole milk is full of saturated fats, which raise all kinds of health concerns, including obesity, high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease, Time magazine reported.
The moment Carson makes mention of whether the brain is receiving soda or milk, Trump jumps to attention asking, “So, milk would help your cognitive ability?”
“Absolutely, you can tell who’s been drinking milk,” Carson responded.
“Taking cognitive tests,” Trump said out of nowhere as everyone around him giggled and laughed, except the bored young girl next to him who stood with her arms crossed and an exasperated look on her face.
“I’ve taken a lot of them. I’ve aced everyone of them because I drink milk,” he claimed.
“It’s good and it shows,” Carson contended.
Social media of course had a lot to say.
“Anybody that’s taking a lot of cognitive exams isn’t acing them. If he did ace one, they’d stop giving them. Ask yourself – do you have to repeatedly take a cognitive exam after passing? My mom had to take them multiple times. She has dementia. Just sayin’,” Threads user Sandra Tokach pointed out.
“Does he still not understand why they keep testing him ? Imbecile. Moron. Low IQ Prezidolt,” another wondered.
Another mocked, “Please…his blood is probably Diet Coke and McDonalds PER RFK JR.”
But what really set social media off was the expression on the girl’s face as Trump bumbled on about cognitive tests.
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“I’m I the only one noticing in the collection of heinous sub-humans that are surrounding him, there is a young girl on the far right? Her body language tells us she is definitely feeling uncomfortable. I feel bad for her,” Threads user Nunn Claudia lamented.
Another agreed, posting a picture of the girl captioned, “That little girl on the right is all of us.”
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Someone else jokingly stated, “Yep that’s me, you’re probably wondering how I ended up in this situation …”
The diary industry has lobbied for years to make whole and 2% milk available in schools again and The Whole Milk For Healthy Kids Act does just that, reversing parts of the Obama-era Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act which limited higher fat options with school meals, according to CBS News.
