During a speech in Detroit, Donald Trump touted his results on a test of his mental abilities, while making an embarrassing mix-up over the name of the doctor who examined him.
Archivbild: Julia Nikhinson/AP/dpa
On Saturday, in Detroit, the 78-year-old ex-president invited his opponent, President Joe Biden, to take the same test he had carried out under the supervision of then-White House physician Ronny Jackson , now a fervent supporter of Trump.
“He doesn’t even know what the word ‘inflation’ means. I think he should take a cognitive test like I did,” he said.
But moments later, Trump mixed up the doctor’s name, calling him “Doc Ronny Johnson.” “Does everyone know Texas Congressman Ronny Johnson? He was the White House physician. I answered every question,” he boasted. “He told me that, in his opinion, I was the healthiest president in history, so I really like him,” he continued.
During that same speech, Trump also discussed a video clip that went viral. In that video, Biden appeared disoriented during a G7 meeting in Italy, turning “to look at the trees” as other leaders watched a paratrooper.
In fact, the video was cropped to omit the part where Biden was looking at another paratrooper who had just landed next to him. It was the White House press secretary who released this full version of the video. He accused Rupert Murdoch, owner of the New York Post, of deliberately distorting the truth to support Trump.
Biden’s age, the main axis of Trump’s campaign
Biden’s age has become a main focus of the Trump campaign’s attacks ahead of the November presidential elections. Trump’s team releases videos almost daily showing Biden stumbling, stuttering, or appearing disoriented.
Yet Trump himself is finding it increasingly difficult to hide his own physical and mental failings. Unlike Trump, Biden, as head of state, is regularly subjected to medical tests, the results of which are published by the White House physician. On the other hand, little information is available on Trump’s state of health, apart from a brief letter from his doctor published in mid-November affirming that he is in “excellent” health.
