Top Doctor Sounds Alarm as Trump Seems to Confirm Dementia Fears
The president’s social media post bragging yet again about acing a cognitive test has raised several red flags.
President Donald Trump’s habit of bragging about acing multiple cognitive tests may have accidentally confirmed everyone’s worst fears about the state of his health.
Appearing on MS NOW, Dr. Vin Gupta discussed the president’s latest boast, the 79-year-old gloating yet again about scoring “100%” on a third cognitive examination in a Friday Truth Social post.
“The White House Doctors have just reported that I am in ‘PERFECT HEALTH,’ and that I ‘ACED’ (Meaning, was correct on 100% of the questions asked!), for the third straight time, my Cognitive Examination, something which no other President, or previous Vice President, was willing to take,” the president wrote.

Donald Trump/Truth Social
“This is not the flex he thinks it is,” Gupta, medical analyst for NBC News and former chief medical officer at Amazon Pharmacy, said. “You don’t do this every other day and use that as evidence that you’re cognitively there.”
“Those that tend to do Montreal [Cognitive Assessment Tool, or MOCA] tests with that level of frequency, usually we’re worried about the presence of early-stage dementia or cognitive impairment, so he might be ruling himself in to something that he doesn’t want to rule himself into.”
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
The president has faced increasing speculation surrounding his cognitive health during his second term, with multiple medical experts and Trump’s own niece suggesting that his decline is readily apparent.

The president has repeatedly bragged about acing multiple cognitive tests, which are typically reserved for people in cognitive decline.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Psychologist Dr. John Gartner has previously told The Daily Beast Podcast that undertaking the same cognitive assessment multiple times suggests that his doctors are not assessing dementia, but monitoring it.
“You could maybe justify giving someone the MoCA once, just on their age, just as part of a physical. If you’re giving it to him three times, that means you’re not assessing dementia. That means you’re monitoring dementia,” Gartner said.
Gartner has previously pointed to the president’s increasingly erratic behavior as evidence of his cognitive decline.
“When people develop dementia, they become the worst versions of themselves,” he told the Daily Beast’s Joanna Coles in November.
“Whatever personality issues or problems [people with dementia] have begin to deteriorate and they become even more crude, disorganized, aggressive, confused versions of that personality disorder,” Gartner added.
Caginess from the White House has only exacerbated speculation about the president’s health, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt repeatedly declining to provide journalists or the American public with details of the president’s medical assessments.
After the president himself blurted out in October that he had undergone an MRI during a physical examination, the White House initially declined to explain why. Eventually, in December, they claimed that it was a “preventative” measure due to his age—a claim medical experts immediately began to question.
“There really is no preventative cardiac MRI,” Dr. Jonathan Reiner told CNN in December. “This is not a standard test for an 80-year-old man to undergo advanced imaging.”
Trump has also regularly been seen with bruises on his hand—something the White House has blamed on frequent handshakes plus a daily aspirin regimen—and swollen ankles, likely the result of his chronic venous insufficiency diagnosis, both of which have added to concerns about his fitness for office, as has his seeming tendency to take naps during official meetings.
In January 2025, Trump—who regularly questioned his predecessor Joe Biden’s fitness for office—became the oldest president to take the oath of office.

Donald Trump is often spotted with bruises on his hands.
Chip Somodevilla/Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
In December, he posted a lengthy rant to Truth Social in which he argued that it was “seditious, perhaps even treasonous” to discuss his health.
“After all of the work I have done with Medical Exams, Cognitive Exams, and everything else, I actually believe it’s seditious, perhaps even treasonous, for The New York Times, and others, to consistently do FAKE reports in order to libel and demean ‘THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,’” he wrote in response to a wave of fresh concern about his seemingly declining health.
Unlock a year of full access to The Looker and The Daily Beast for $35.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Looker and The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Sign in
Login dialog



ADVERTISEMENT
Sign in or create an account
Login dialog
Loading comments…
ADVERTISEMENT