Joe Biden says no to Donald Trump’s cognitive test challenge

Joe Biden said he would not take a cognitive test despite goading from Donald Trump he should do so and the president bragging his Democratic rival wouldn’t be able to beat his score.

‘No, I haven’t taken a test. Why the hell would I take a test?,’ Biden said in an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists and National Association of Hispanic Journalists that’s set to air in full on Thursday.

‘Come on man. That’s like saying, before you got in this program, you’re taking a test whether you’re taking cocaine or not. What do you think? Huh? Are you a junkie?,’ he added.

Joe Biden said he would not take a cognitive test despite goading from President Donald Trump that he should do so

President Trump has bragged he has 'aced' a cognitive test and said Biden should take one

President Trump has bragged he has ‘aced’ a cognitive test and said Biden should take one

Biden also mocked President Trump’s bragging about his score on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a ten-minute test of cognitive abilities that includes a question where it has the taker identify an animal such as an elephant, lion or camel.

‘Well, if he can’t figure out the difference between an elephant and a lion, I don’t know what the hell he’s talking about,’ the presumptive Democratic nominee said. 

He added he was looking forward to meeting the president in their three debates, where voters would be able to judge for themselves. His confirmation that he will participates comes as some Democrats have suggested Biden should set them out.

‘I’m so looking forward to sit with or stand with the president in debates. There’s going to be plenty of times,’ Biden said. ‘I am very willing to let the public to judge my physical as well as my mental fitness and, well, you know, to make a judgement about who I am.’ 

Trump bragged he has ‘aced’ the cognitive test and has challenged Biden to take it. 

‘Joe should take that test, because something’s going on. And, and, I say this with respect. I mean — going to probably happen to all of us, right? You know? It’s going to happen,’ he told Fox News last month.

The president’s test was given at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in early 2018 by Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, who was then a White House physician but is not running for a Texas House seat as a Republican, The Washington Post reported. 

In an interview with ‘Fox News Sunday’ last month, host Chris Wallace told the president he also took the test and it wasn’t the ‘hardest.’  

‘Well, it’s not the hardest test,’ Wallace said. ‘They have a picture and it says, ‘What’s that?’ And it’s an elephant.’

But Trump argued the test gets harder further on.

‘Yes, the first few questions are easy, but I’ll bet you couldn’t even answer the last five questions,’ he said. ‘I’ll bet you couldn’t. They get very hard, the last five questions.’

Trump often brags about his mental prowess and has called himself a ‘very stable genius.’ 

Medical experts said the test does not measure a person’s IQ or intellectual abilities but is designed to flag the beginning of cognitive decline that could come with age or a medical condition such as Alzheimer’s or a stroke.

And the White House has not said why the president needed to take a test of his cognitive abilities. 

Trump and his campaign have pushed for questions of Biden’s mental abilities –  at age 77 Biden is three years old than Trump – but it’s the president who has faced health questions, particularly after his commencement speech at West Point in June where he had difficulty walking down a ramp and had to use two hands to lift a glass of water.

President Trump defended his score on a cognitive test last month in an interview with Chris Wallace on 'Fox News Sunday'

President Trump defended his score on a cognitive test last month in an interview with Chris Wallace on ‘Fox News Sunday’

Jill Biden dinged President Donald Trump for criticizing her husband's cognitive ability during an interview with Fox News

Jill Biden dinged President Donald Trump for criticizing her husband’s cognitive ability during an interview with Fox News

Meanwhile, Jill Biden has come to her husband’s defense, dinging the president for questioning Joe Biden’s cognitive abilities.

She told Fox News on Tuesday that it was ‘surprising’ the president would say that and argued the two men are close in age.  

‘I think Donald Trump is really about Joe’s age right? I think there’s like two or three years difference. It’s surprising that he would say Joe wouldn’t be up to it and made those comments,’ Jill Biden said. 

She also disputed Trump’s characterization that Joe Biden is hiding in the basement. Trump has repeatedly gone after Biden for hiding in his basement after Biden cut down on his campaign rallies because of the coronavirus pandemic.

‘You know, Joe is anything but that characterization. You know we’ve been campaigning, we’ve been listening to the experts, the scientists, and the doctors, and they have told us stay home and be safe,’ she said. 

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