Trump challenges Biden to take same cognitive test as him, mocks former VP saying he 'couldn't pass one'
President Donald Trump, on Thursday, July 9, mocked former vice president and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden, saying the latter could not pass a cognitive test. Trump made the statement while appearing during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity.
Biden's mental acuity, over recent months, has come under scrutiny as critics believe the Democrat may be too old to handle the pressure of running the country if elected in November. Biden, who is only three years older than Trump, will be the oldest person to be elected the US President in the country's history. Addressing the criticism regarding his age and mental health, the former vice president, in a press conference in July, had stated that he had "constantly" taken cognitive tests. Trump, during the Fox News interview, however, implied that Biden actually meant COVID-19 tests and not cognitive because the Democrat was "confused by the question and the words and everything else."
"He didn't mean that, because he hasn't taken any cognitive tests because he couldn't pass one," the president said, adding that he would like Biden to take the "same exact test" the Republican had taken at Walter Reed Hospital on Thursday. Trump also added that he believed the former vice president had been "brainwashed" by members of the "radical left." "He has no clue what they're doing and what they're getting him into," the Republican leader said. "They brainwashed him. He doesn't know where he is, he doesn't know what he's doing and our country will suffer. Our stock markets will crash. Bad things will happen."
The Republican has often speculated on Biden's mental state by often referring to the former vice president as "Sleepy Joe" in his tweets and campaign speeches. Trump previously also suggested that if Biden won the 2020 elections, he would function as the Democratic Party's puppet president.
Trump, in his tweet in June, had stated: "Sleepy Joe Biden's people are so Radical Left that they are working to get the Anarchists out of jail, and probably more. Joe doesn't know anything about it, he is clueless, but they will be the real power, not Joe. They will be calling the shots! Big tax increases for all, Plus!" By "anarchists" Trump was referring to the George Floyd protesters who had been arrested during demonstrations last month.
Biden, in July, released the results of a medical assessment he underwent at George Washington University. The report had stated: "Vice President Biden is a healthy, vigorous, 77-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency, to include those as Chief Executive, Head of State and Commander in Chief."
The former vice president, while speaking to reporters, slammed Trump for speculating on his mental acuity. "This president, he talks about cognitive ability," Biden said. "He doesn't seem cognitively aware of what's going on. He either reads and or gets briefed on important issues and he forgets it, or he doesn't think it's necessary that he needs to know it."