Trump Gets Candid About Cognitive Health in Interview With NBC’s Tom Llamas
What To Know
- Donald Trump claimed in a recent interview that he feels as physically and mentally strong as he did in his 20s, despite approaching his 80th birthday.
- He emphasized his repeated success on cognitive tests, which he described as challenging, though experts note these are screening tools for impairment, not IQ tests.
- Trump continues to take a regular aspirin regimen against some medical advice, believing it keeps his blood “thin,” a rationale criticized by cardiologists as medically inaccurate.
President Donald Trump continues to boast about “acing” a “cognitive mind test” as he was questioned about his health and turning 80 in June.
In an extended preview from his sit-down interview with NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas, which is set to air in full on Super Bowl Sunday (February 8), Trump claimed he feels “physically and mentally great,” going so far as to say he feels as good as he did in his 20s.
“We first met 10 years ago when you were running the first time. How do you feel now as you approach 80?” Llamas asked the president.
“I feel great,” Trump responded. “I mean, physically and mentally, I feel like I did 50 years ago. It’s crazy! Now there’ll be a time when I won’t be able to give you that answer. But that time hasn’t come, you know?”
Trump added that he thinks health is “very important,” stating, “I’ve done more physicals. I take physicals just to give the report out.”
He then pointed to his head, adding, “I take cognitive physicals, so I do a cognitive mind test, okay? And a lot of people wouldn’t be able to do very well. Not easy, you get to those last questions.”
Trump has frequently bragged about “acing” these cognitive tests, which he has equated to an IQ test. The test he actually took, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA), is not an IQ test but a screening tool used to detect mild cognitive impairment. It involves questions such as identifying animals and solving basic math problems.
“I’ve aced! I’ve done three of them. No other president has agreed to do them. I do them because I have no problem with it, because I’m 100 percent,” he told Llamas.
Llamas then turned his attention to Trump’s physical health, asking if he is still “taking aspirin.”
Last month, a report from The Wall Street Journal claimed Trump had ignored doctors’ orders to take a lower dosage of aspirin. “They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t want thick blood pouring through my heart,” he told the outlet. “I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?”
CNN’s medical analyst and top cardiologist, Jonathan Reiner, previously criticized Trump’s aspirin regimen. “That makes no sense. That actually makes nonsense,” he said on CNN’s The Lead in January. “When we use any kind of anticoagulant, medications to prevent clotting, those don’t thin the blood. It’s not like changing something from gumbo to chicken soup. It doesn’t make it thinner. It makes you less likely to clot.”
Trump doesn’t appear to have listened to that advice, as he told Llamas, “I take aspirin, and I don’t want to change, you know… I’ve been taking aspirin for 30 years, and I don’t want to change it. So they say ‘take the smaller one,’ I say, well, I want that blood to be nice and thin running through my heart.”
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