President Donald Trump has been taking jabs at Democratic Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jasmine Crockett, claiming that they were “low IQ” and couldn’t pass a cognitive test he boasted about passing with exemplary marks. Late night host Jimmy Kimmel caught wind of Trump’s remarks and mocked the president, with Crockett joining in.
Trump spoke about the test (he took a similar one in 2020), which was administered at Walter Reed Medical Center, telling reporters in the clip Kimmel showed to his audience, “You give [Ocasio-Cortez] an IQ test. Have her pass the exams that I decided to take. Let AOC go against Trump. Let Jasmine go against Trump.” In his monologue, Kimmel said after, “I agree. It sounds like a challenge.”
He continued, “Not only do I want to see this contest happen, I want to make it happen… I want to give our brilliant, bigly brained president a chance to teach those left-wing lightweights a thing or two about brain power live on national television.” Kimmel called the test “The James C. Kimmel Cognitive Aptitude and Mental Brilliance Invitational,” and brought on the representative from Texas via video call.
When Kimmel asked if she heard the comments, Crockett confirmed that she did.“I know that he can’t seem to find himself in the Oval Office to make sure that he can end this shutdown, but he does have time to troll me. So, listen: If he’s down, I’m down,” she said. She also called out Trump’s pattern when using “low IQ” as an insult: “They tend to be women, and they tend to be women of color.” Kimmel then went on to make fun of the test’s supposed complexity, asking Crockett basic questions of identification like holding up a picture of an elephant and asking her if she knew what it was. When she answered correctly, he joked, “Wow, you’re going to crush this.”
The test Trump refers to is actually a variation of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. The MoCA Test is usually ten minutes long, and is designed to identify signs of dementia or Alzheimer’s in a person. ““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,” said Jonathan Reiner, a cardiologist and George Washington School of Health and Medicine professor said in an interview last year.
