Trump Brags About Taking Dementia Test as Shutdown Has No End in Sight

President Trump on Monday bragged about passing a dementia test, while challenging Democrats decades younger than him to try and do the same. 

“[We] have a great group of people, which they don’t,” Trump said while taking questions inside Air Force One. “They have Jasmine Crocket, a low-IQ person. [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] is low IQ.… Have her pass, like, the exams that I decided to take when I was at Walter Reed. Those are really hard, they’re really aptitude tests, I guess, in a certain way. But they’re cognitive tests.” 

The “cognitive tests” that Trump is bragging about so proudly—and condescendingly telling two outspoken, progressive women of color to take—is most likely some variation of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. The MoCA is a 10-minute assessment designed to identify signs of dementia or Alzheimer’s, and yet Trump talks about it like it was the Graduate Record Examinations or the LSAT. 

Trump visited Walter Reed Medical Center earlier this month, raising questions about whether he once again took the dementia test on this visit.

The president has been bragging about this test for years now. 

“It was 30 to 35 questions.… The first questions are very easy. The last questions are much more difficult. Like a memory question. It’s, like, you’ll go: Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV. So they say, ‘Could you repeat that?’ So I said, ‘Yeah. It’s: Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV,’” Trump said back in 2020. “They said nobody gets it in order.… It’s actually not that easy, but for me, it was easy.”

“I think it was 35, 30 questions,” he said again last year. “They always show you the first one, like a giraffe, a tiger, or this, or that—a whale. ‘Which one is the whale?’ OK. And that goes on for three or four [questions], and then it gets harder and harder and harder.”

The test itself is controversial within the medical community, and Trump’s misrepresentation of it has been thoroughly debunked over the years.  

“It’s a very, very low bar for somebody who carries the nuclear launch codes in their pocket to pass and certainly nothing to brag about,” Jonathan Reiner, a George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences professor and cardiologist, told The Washington Post last year.  

And yet Trump, in the midst of a government shutdown, continues to place the MoCA on a pedestal, using it to disparage Representatives Crockett and Ocasio-Cortez even though they could likely pass it with flying colors. Especially if it just consists of  “Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.”

President Donald Trump’s administration claims that its hands are tied against funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program while the government is closed, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s own shutdown plan says that’s not the case.

The USDA published a memo in August claiming that SNAP contingency funds could not legally be used to cover regular benefits for the 42 million Americans that use them, and that any states trying to cover the cost would not be reimbursed, Axios reported Monday.

“SNAP contingency funds are only available to supplement regular monthly benefits when amounts have been appropriated for, but are insufficient to cover benefits,” the memo stated. “The contingency fund is not available to support FY 2026 regular benefits, because the appropriation for regular benefits no longer exists.”

Now the funds could solely be used for so-called contingencies, such as natural disasters, USDA claimed. “For example, Hurricane Melissa is currently swirling in the Caribbean and could reach Florida,” the memo stated. “Having funds readily available allows the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to mobilize quickly in the days and weeks following a disaster.”

But the USDA’s Lapse of Funding Plan, published a month later and which Axios reported has been removed from the agency’s website, stated just the opposite.

“OMB’s General Counsel provided a letter to USDA on May 23, 2025 stating that there is a bona fide need to obligate benefits for October—the first month of the fiscal year—during or prior to the month of September, thereby guaranteeing that benefit funds are available for program operations even in the event of a government shutdown at the beginning of a fiscal year,” the disappeared document states.

“In addition, Congressional intent is evident that SNAP’s operations should continue since the program has been provided with multi-year contingency funds that can be used for State Administrative Expenses to ensure that the State can also continue operations during a Federal Government shutdown,” the plan stated. “These multi-year contingency funds are also available to fund participant benefits in the event that a lapse occurs in the middle of the fiscal year.”

The memo also claimed that using the contingency funds would prevent additional transfers to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, which has reportedly been funded using Trump’s tariff money during the shutdown.

This latest memo from the USDA is part of a wider campaign from the Trump administration to hold the health and well-being of millions of Americans hostage, while suggesting it is the Democrats who are responsible. In fact, the USDA website currently has a banner at the top explicitly blaming Democrats for the shutdown.

But in reality, it is the White House that is picking and choosing which projects to fund and what to withhold to make Americans hurt—so it can pressure Democrats into signing a clean continuing resolution.

Earlier this month, the USDA sent a letter to states warning that a lapse in appropriations had resulted in “insufficient funds” to pay SNAP benefits through November. Last week, states began to issue warnings to their most vulnerable residents that benefits would be suspended starting in the middle of October.

President Trump is doing absolutely nothing to dispel the growing rumor that he will completely disregard the Constitution to run for an illegal third presidential term.    

“Steve Bannon said in a recent interview that there would be plans for you to be able to run and potentially win a third term in 2028,” a reporter asked Trump on Air Force One on Monday. “Is that something you’d be willing to challenge in court?”

“Well, I haven’t really thought about it, we have some very good people as you know,” he replied. “But uh, I have the best poll numbers I’ve ever had.” 

After saying Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio could run for president in 2028, Trump again brought it back to himself. “I would love to do it,” he emphasized.

Asked by a reporter if he wasn’t ruling out a third term, Trump replied, “Am I not ruling it out? I mean you’ll have to tell me.”

The president is wrong about the poll numbers, as they are currently some of the lowest he’s experienced. And more importantly, the president has absolutely thought about 2028—he’s already had the hats made. Steve Bannon, his former right hand, has made the actual plans abundantly clear.

“Trump is gonna be president in ’28, and people ought to just get accommodated with that,” Bannon said in an interview with The Economist published last Thursday. “There’s many different alternatives. At the appropriate time, we’ll lay out what the plan is, but there’s a plan and President Trump will be the president in ’28.” 

Trump’s complete nonanswer, combined with everything Bannon and the deep MAGA base has said about it, should raise alarm for anyone still holding onto whatever constitutional values still apply in this country. The most corrupt president in modern history is planning a constitutional coup, and it’s highly unlikely that he’ll let tradition and custom—things he’s never cared about—stop him. 

The head of CNN wants his network to tone down its coverage of President Trump destroying the White House’s East Wing as he builds his enormous ballroom.

Status reports that CNN CEO Mark Thompson told his staffers on a conference call Thursday to reduce the network’s coverage of the White House’s destruction, one day after he had paid a visit to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Wednesday meeting at the White House was supposedly about CNN’s upcoming streaming product and an opportunity for Trump administration officials to appear on the network, but Thompson’s words to CNN employees raise the question of whether Trump officials told him to alter the network’s coverage. Staffers at the network are suspicious, according to Status, especially considering that CNN anchor Jake Tapper has been trying to get an interview with the president.

The network has a historically bad relationship with Trump, with its correspondents often butting heads with the president going back to before his first term. Its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is up for sale with Trump ally David Ellison among the leading suitors. During his second term as president, Trump has made no secret of his grudges against media outlets, seeking to punish them through the Federal Communications Commission and defamation lawsuits.

Could Trump be trying to take advantage of CNN and engineer softer coverage? Is Thompson trying to save his own job in the event Ellison acquires CNN? Either way, it’s another example of the Trump administration infringing on the freedom of the press.

Senator Rand Paul is on a campaign to knock President Donald Trump off of his warpath.

During Paul’s appearance on Fox News Sunday, host Shannon Bream asked the Kentucky Republican what information he wanted the government to provide about its military strikes in the Caribbean Sea. But Paul said that a briefing wasn’t what he was after.

“A briefing’s not enough to overcome the Constitution,” Paul said. “The Constitution says that when you go to war, Congress has to vote on it. And during a war then, [there are] lower rules for engagement and people do sometimes get killed without due process.

“But the drug war, or the crime war, has typically been something we do through law enforcement. And so far they have alleged that these people are drug dealers. No one said their name, no one said their evidence,” Paul said. “So, at this point, I would call them extrajudicial killings.

“This is akin to what China does, to [what] Iran does with drug dealers; they summarily execute people without providing evidence to the public, so it’s wrong,” Paul said.

Both Iran and China have been known to secretly execute drug dealers, without providing due process. Paul, a Libertarian, has been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration’s policy on the strikes, pointing to the military’s likely illegal drones, as well as the statistical likelihood that some of its targets are mistaken.

The U.S. conducted its tenth strike on a foreign vessel on Friday, killing another six people without providing any actual evidence linking the boats to any drug cartel. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed the ship was operated by Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang.

Trump also ordered an aircraft carrier strike group to the Caribbean, in a major escalation of military tension between the U.S. and Venezuela. Last week, Trump stated his intention to expand his lawless strikes to dry land—bragging that Congress wouldn’t stop him.

Donald Trump’s latest doctor visit turned out to be a fairly serious medical evaluation.

The president stopped by Walter Reed Medical Center earlier this month, but the president’s team refused for days to explain why. Apparently it was for MRI scans, a medical tool typically used to assess tumors, joint injuries, or heart conditions. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One Monday, Trump claimed the visit was little more than a “routine yearly checkup”—despite the fact that he had his annual physical just six months ago.

“I got an MRI,” he said before touching down in Japan. “It was perfect.”

The president did not elaborate on what the doctors were looking for or what they had found, though the 79-year-old did emphasize that the doctors allegedly told him he had “some of the best reports” they had ever seen.

“You can ask the doctors,” he said. “Nobody has ever given you reports like I give you.”

Trump then went on to brag about his IQ, claiming that “aptitude tests” he received at Walter Reed proved he was superior to his political opponents—especially compared to a couple of healthy young women.

“You give her an IQ test. Have her pass, like, the exams that I decided to take when I was at Walter Reed,” Trump said referring to Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “I took—those are very hard—they’re really aptitude tests, I guess, in a certain way.”

Trump also derided Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett, suggesting that she too should grapple with the “very hard” tests, which he said included questions about “tigers, an elephant, a giraffe.” It’s unclear what test this could be referring to, but it sounds remarkably similar to Trump’s infamous “person, woman, man, camera, TV” test—which health experts have revealed is a test to check for signs of dementia, Alzheimer’s, or other cognitive issues.

The White House said that the president was in “excellent overall health” after his October 10 visit, referring to the testing as “advanced imaging.” Press secretary Karoline Leavitt refused to clarify that language during a White House press briefing last week, rejecting a reporter’s query as to whether that meant Trump had received MRI scans.

“Advanced imaging is something that presidents receive and people receive when they go to the doctor, and so we provided a detailed readout of that physical, and I would encourage you back for that,” she said.

When pressed again on the matter, Leavitt said: “I don’t know the exact imaging that took place, but as the physician’s note said, the president is in incredibly good shape and I think that’s evidenced here every single day.”

Trump’s health has been a topic of concern since he was on the campaign trail, when reports circulated that he couldn’t remember the contents of the cognitive exams he claimed to ace. Since then, the president has been spotted with odd discolorations on his hand, routinely appears discombobulated and lethargic during critical meetings with world leaders, and had a drooping expression during 9/11 ceremonies in September that onlookers suggested could be a sign of a stroke.

It looks like President Donald Trump’s family is once again using the White House as a personal piggy bank.

A Florida-based drone manufacturer linked to Don Trump Jr. just received its largest ever contract to supply parts to the Pentagon, the Financial Times reported Friday.

Unusual Machines, a company that builds and sells drones, said that the U.S. Army had contracted it to make 3,500 drone motors, among other parts, and the Pentagon indicated that it would order an additional 20,000 components in 2026. CEO Allen Evans said that he believed it was the largest order the company had ever received from the U.S. government, but he did not disclose the value of the contract. The Defense Department appears to have stopped posting daily contract notices since the government shutdown began on October 1.

Trump Jr. joined the company’s advisory board in November 2024, shortly after his father became commander in chief of the U.S. military. Trump Jr. previously disclosed that he owned a roughly $4 million stake in the company, although it’s unclear whether he has retained his shares. Earlier this month, Evans told Bloomberg that the president’s son had continued to participate in fundraising rounds.

There are obvious conflicts of interest that surround the president’s son being positioned to profit off the defense industry—and the Trump administration has already done plenty to pave the way for buying more American-made drones. In June, Trump signed an executive order to “unleash American drone dominance,” and in July, the Pentagon removed restrictions in order to accelerate drone procurement.

Trump Jr.’s involvement immediately boosted Unusual Machines’ beleaguered stock, and Evans said that the first son’s public endorsement made it easier to get meetings with potential partners, allowing the company to raise more than $80 million from investors this year.

But Evans insisted that Trump Jr. wasn’t involved in the massive deal, and a spokesperson for Trump Jr. said that “Don has never communicated with anyone in the administration on behalf of Unusual Machines or about the contract in question.”

The president’s family has pocketed more than $1.8 billion in cash and gifts since Trump’s return to the White House, according to the Center for American Progress. That figure includes more than $1.2 billion from their cryptocurrency side hustle. On Thursday, Trump pardoned the founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, who helped launch his family’s cryptocurrency platform, World Liberty Financial, with a massive $2 billion favor for its stablecoin.

The ballroom replacing the White House East Wing will share Donald Trump’s name.

The $300 million project has yet to receive a formal designation, but it is already being referred to as the “President Donald J. Trump Ballroom,” a moniker that will likely stick, senior administration officials told ABC News Friday.

Practically every detail that has emerged about the ballroom—and the East Wing’s complete destruction this week—has been uncovered by media outlets that refused to take the administration’s plan at face value.

After promising Americans in July that his ballroom proposal would “be near but not touching” the historic building, Trump plowed ahead without prerequisite approval from the National Capital Planning Commission (which has been closed since the government shutdown began earlier this month) and without the express permission of Congress.

The project’s price tag also inexplicably grew by 50 percent over the last week. What Trump had pitched as a $200 million project was instead referred to this week as a $300 million development plan that the White House suggested would be funded, in part, by some of the country’s wealthiest families and biggest corporations, including the likes of Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta.

Government officials are still trying to ascertain whether Trump’s sudden, unauthorized decision to demolish the White House was legal, but at least two Americans have already opted to sue him over it in an attempt to suspend the construction.

The White House’s partial destruction is, ultimately, another illustration that the country’s constitutional system of checks and balances has eroded. The international real estate mogul’s desire to destroy the government—and with it, the architectural face of American democracy—has received practically zero pushback from his allies in Congress, who appear all too willing to sit back as Trump courts billionaires to fund his golden banquet hall.

Resisting Trump’s drafts for the East Wing would require someone in power to actually hold the president accountable. But his desire to destroy and redevelop the White House as he sees fit should come as no surprise, since he’s never appeared to be a fan of the national symbol. During his first term, Trump reportedly called the White House “a dump” (an allegation that he has publicly refuted), and he has spent no small part of his second term living and dining at his own properties rather than the executive mansion.

An anonymous ally of Donald Trump is donating $130 million to pay members of the military during the government shutdown.

The Department of Defense confirmed Friday that “the donation was made on the condition that it be used to offset the cost of service members’ salaries and benefits,” spokesperson Sean Parnell told CNN. Trump had announced the donation the day before.

The move is unprecedented, as the military has always been funded by American taxpayers. According to CNN, the White House referred questions about the donor’s identity and possible ties to foreign interests to the Defense Department, which then referred questions back to the president. Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress told the news outlet that they were out of the loop.

It’s the latest example of the Trump administration touting an influx of private cash. Trump has bragged that his White House ballroom is being funded entirely with private donations, but seems unconcerned about the appearance of bribery or corruption. The fact that this donation, ostensibly to military personnel, is coming from an anonymous donor also raises the question of legality, as it could come from a foreign entity or government looking to curry favor with Trump or his business interests.

The Trump Organization, which the president claims is being run by his children during his presidency, has expanded its business interests dramatically in the past year. One foreign leader, the president of Indonesia, was caught asking the president to speak with his son about a deal earlier this month.

Is this donation to the military coming with strings attached for government policy? Or is it benefiting the president’s personal interests in some way? Thanks to a lack of transparency, no one outside of the president’s inner circle has a clue.

Canada seems to be caving to President Trump, pulling a TV ad featuring former President Ronald Reagan’s criticism of tariffs. The ad originally began airing in Ontario last week, thanks to Doug Ford, the province’s conservative premier.

The ad featured a clip of Reagan’s 1987 radio address in which the conservative icon argued that tariffs undermine economic prosperity and that they only serve to “hurt every American.”

The one-minute ad cuts portions of Reagan’s five-minute speech so that Reagan is saying several sentences in succession that were actually separate during the original address. As edited, Reagan says:

When someone says, ‘Let’s impose tariffs on foreign imports,’ it looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes, for a short while, it works—but only for a short time.

But over the long run such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer. High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. Then the worst happens: Markets shrink and collapse, businesses and industry shut down, and millions of people lose their jobs. Throughout the world, there’s a growing realization that the way to prosperity for all nations is rejecting protectionist legislation and promoting fair and free competition. America’s jobs and growth are at stake.

While the clip is edited, Reagan certainly was not pro-tariff, and the ad Ford posted is not that far off from how the former president felt, much to the chagrin of Trump. Watch the ad in full here: