TRUMP’S AIR FORCE ONE MELTDOWN: “Low-IQ” Slurs Ignite Dementia Test Catastrophe
Aboard Air Force One, Donald Trump launched a vicious attack on two leading Democratic women, labeling Rep. Jasmine Crockett and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) as “low IQ” individuals. “They have Jasmine Crockett, who is a low IQ person. They have—AOC is a low IQ person,” he told reporters.
He then spiraled into a bizarre boast about a “super tough” test he took at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, framing it as evidence of his genius. “You give her an IQ test. Make her pass the tests that I decided to give her when I was at Walter Reed,” Trump demanded. “Those tests are really hard. They’re actually aptitude tests, in a way. But they’re cognitive tests. Let’s put Jasmine against Trump. The first few questions are easy—a tiger, an elephant, a giraffe, you know. When you get to about five or six, then when you get to ten, twenty, and twenty-five, they can’t answer any of them.”
INSTANT BACKFIRE: He’s Describing a DEMENTIA SCREEN
Viewers quickly identified the test as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)—a simple screening tool doctors use to detect early dementia or Alzheimer’s. It’s not an IQ or aptitude exam. It checks basic functions like memory, attention, and spatial awareness. Famous tasks include naming animals and the infamous “draw a clock” exercise, where patients sketch a clock at a set time. Getting it right shows normal cognition—not elite intelligence.
AOC’S SAVAGE REPLY GOES VIRAL
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez struck back on X with razor-sharp sarcasm: “Hey Mr. President! Out of curiosity, did those doctors ask you to draw a clock? Is that hard for you too? Asking 340 million people.”
Her post exploded—over 2 million views in hours—launching #DrawTheClock to national trending status. It exposed the core irony: Trump was touting a dementia check as a badge of brilliance. The test doesn’t prove genius; it just confirms you can remember simple objects and identify animals.
One neurologist tweeted: “If you think the MoCA test is hard, that says more about your brain than it does about your IQ.”
JASMINE CROCKETT’S SUBTLE KNOCKOUT
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, famed for her courtroom precision in hearings, delivered a polite Southern dagger: “Bless his heart.” Later, in a hallway interview: “If the man thinks naming zoo animals is a sign of genius, maybe that explains a lot about how we got here.”
Her response dominated social media. TikTok creators remixed her words over Trump’s rant clips. YouTube late-night shows mined it for laughs: “The man thinks he’s Einstein because he knows what a giraffe looks like,” quipped The Daily Show host. “Meanwhile, the rest of us are wondering if he can even find the clock on his phone.”
DARKER PATTERN: RACISM AND MISOGYNY ON REPEAT
Beyond the comedy, critics highlight a disturbing trend: Trump routinely calls prominent women of color “low IQ”—including Rep. Maxine Waters, Vice President Kamala Harris, and journalist April Ryan.
“It’s a go-to insult that’s both sexist and racist,” said analyst Errin Haines. “He uses it to demean smart, outspoken women of color by suggesting their intelligence or success is illegitimate.”
Crockett and AOC—sharp, progressive critics of Trumpism—fit this target profile perfectly, making them constant conservative media punching bags. Trump’s rant only amplified the dynamic.
EXPERTS DIAGNOSE THE CONFUSION
Medical pros weighed in fast. “The MoCA is not an intelligence test,” said UCLA neuropsychologist Dr. Lisa Feldman. “It’s designed to screen for mild cognitive impairment. Most healthy adults find it easy. Describing it as difficult suggests possible deficits in memory or executive function.”
Dr. John Gartner, who has analyzed Trump’s speech patterns, told The Daily Beast the ex-president shows a “massive increase in clinical signs of dementia,” including “verbal disorganization” and “memory confusion.”
“His misunderstanding of the test itself is symptomatic,” Gartner said. “He genuinely believes it measures intelligence, which tells us he doesn’t comprehend what the test was for. That’s deeply concerning.”
INTERNET UNLEASHES HELL
The backlash was instant and merciless. Trump’s “tiger, elephant, giraffe” line spawned memes, parody videos, and fake “Trump IQ Tests.”
- A 5M+ view clip mocked a game show: “Can You Beat Trump’s Test?”—contestants cheer for correctly naming cartoon animals.
- Fake MAGA hats read “Make America Draw Again” with a childlike clock doodle.
Even some conservatives winced. “This isn’t the flex he thinks it is,” wrote ex-GOP strategist Rick Wilson. “You don’t brag about passing a test designed to tell doctors whether you’re losing your mind.”
PSYCHOLOGICAL PROJECTION: CLASSIC TRUMP
Experts call this projection—accusing others of flaws he fears in himself. “When he feels threatened, he externalizes his anxiety,” said Dr. Gartner. “He can’t admit decline, so he calls others stupid. He can’t face fragility, so he calls himself strong. The insult isn’t random—it’s a mirror.”
This mirrors past attacks on Biden’s age, disabled people, and elderly rivals. But this episode stands out for its arrogance-meets-confusion surrealism.
“He’s bragging about taking a dementia test while revealing he doesn’t understand what it’s for,” Gartner noted. “It’s both tragic and darkly comic.”
POLITICAL FALLOUT—OR RALLYING CRY?
Such gaffes rarely dent Trump’s core support, who dismiss criticism as “elitist” or “fake news.” But among independents and moderates, they fuel doubts about his stability.
Democrats pounced. The DNC issued a brutal statement: “Donald Trump just confused a dementia test with an IQ test. We wish him good health, but the American people deserve better judgment in the Oval Office than someone bragging about remembering ‘a tiger, an elephant, a giraffe.’”
THE EPIC SELF-OWN
This wasn’t just another outburst—it encapsulated Trump’s persona: overconfident, uninformed, irony-blind.
By slamming Crockett and AOC as “low IQ” while hyping his score on a cognitive decline screen, Trump delivered one of the most self-revealing moments of his career.
As CNN’s Ana Navarro put it: “If you have to brag about passing a dementia screening, you’ve already failed the common sense test.”
For Crockett and AOC, the lesson was clear: When Trump insults you, just hand him the clock—and watch him draw his own defeat.
