Trump challenges Biden to a cognitive test but confuses the name of the doctor who tested him

WASHINGTON -- WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump connected Saturday nighttime suggested President Joe Biden “should person to instrumentality a cognitive test," lone to confuse who administered the trial to him successful the adjacent sentence.

The erstwhile president and presumptive Republican nominee referred to Texas Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson, who was the White House doc for portion of his presidency, arsenic "Ronny Johnson.” The infinitesimal came arsenic Trump was questioning Biden's intelligence acuity, thing helium often does connected the run way and societal media.

“He doesn’t adjacent cognize what the connection ‘inflation’ means. I deliberation helium should instrumentality a cognitive trial similar I did," the erstwhile president said of Biden during a speech astatine a normal of Turning Point Action successful Detroit.

Seconds later, helium continued, “Doc Ronny Johnson. Does everyone cognize Ronny Johnson, congressman from Texas? He was the White House doctor, and helium said I was the healthiest president, helium feels, successful history, truthful I liked him precise overmuch so immediately."

Jackson was elected to Congress successful 2021 and is 1 of Trump's astir vociferous defenders connected Capitol Hill.

Trump, who turned 78 connected Friday, has made questioning whether the 81-year-old Biden is up for a 2nd word a centerpeice of his campaign. But online critics rapidly seized connected his Saturday nighttime gaffe, with the Biden run — which has agelong fought disconnected disapproval astir the Democratic president's verbal missteps — posting a clip of the infinitesimal minutes later.

Trump took the cognitive trial successful 2018 astatine his ain request, Jackson told reporters astatine the time. The exam is designed to observe aboriginal signs of representation nonaccomplishment and different mild cognitive impairment.

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment that Trump took includes remembering a database of spoken words; listening to a database of random numbers and repeating them backward; naming arsenic galore words that statesman with, say, the missive F arsenic imaginable wrong a minute; accurately drafting a cube; and describing factual ways that 2 objects — similar a bid and a bicycle — are alike.

Trump aboriginal said that he had to remember and accurately recite a database of words successful order: “Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.”

During the aforesaid code successful Detroit, Trump besides referenced a video clip wide circulated online successful Republican circles wherever Biden is seen during the precocious concluded Group of Seven acme successful Italy watching skydivers onshore with flags from antithetic nations.

A cropped mentation of the video shows Biden stepping distant from the leaders, turning his backmost and walking successful the different direction. He flashes a thumbs-up but it's not wide who helium is gesturing to. A much implicit space of the aforesaid scene, however, shows that the president had turned to look a skydiver who has landed.

Trump nevertheless seized connected the video clip, falsely describing Biden turning astir "to look astatine trees," drafting laughter and hoots from the crowd.

The Biden run issued a connection dismissing the clip arsenic misleadingly cropped and accusing those disseminating it arsenic “tampering with the video to marque up lies.”