Former President Donald Trump on Saturday confused the name of his former White House physician just moments after he said President Joe Biden should take a cognitive test.
The mix-up happened as Trump bragged that he had “aced” a cognitive test. Trump also criticized Biden, saying, “I think he should take a cognitive test like I did.”
“I took a cognitive test, and I aced it. Doc Ronny — Doc Ronny Johnson,” Trump said, confusing the name of his White House physician, Dr. Ronny Jackson, now a member of the House. “Does everyone know Ronny Johnson, congressman from Texas? He was the White House doctor.”
Trump continued, bragging about having gotten “every question right” on the cognitive test Jackson administered, apparently unaware that he had fumbled his name.
Jackson administered the Montreal Cognitive Assessment to Trump in 2018.
A spokesperson for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday evening.
Trump has mixed up the names of prominent officials and politicians before. In January, he confused GOP presidential rival Nikki Haley with Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., when he was talking about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump has referred to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as the leader of Turkey, and he has switched Biden’s name with that of former President Barack Obama, which Trump defended, saying he did it “sarcastically.”
Trump, who turned 78 years old Friday, frequently tried to paint Biden, 81, as mentally incompetent.
The Biden campaign hit back Saturday, posting a clip of Trump’s mix-up on X. The post got more than 18,000 likes.
In a statement to NBC News, Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer pointed to a CNBC report in which CEOs who met with Trump said that the former president was meandering and exhibited a lack of focus.
Singer called Trump “unhinged, unable to focus, and diminishing before our very eyes.”
“His only coherent thoughts this week were his affinity for more corporate tax cuts for billionaires, tax increases for the middle class, and his disdain for the people of Milwaukee,” Singer continued.
Biden has also mixed up names of politicians and officials. In February, he referred to former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, who died in 2017, instead of former chancellor Angela Merkel. He has also mentioned former French president François Mitterrand, who died in 1996, when he intended to reference French President Emmanuel Macron.
Biden is the oldest president in history. Polling indicates that voters, too, are concerned about what the candidates’ ages might mean for their ability to hold office. Voters appear to consider the issue more of a liability for Biden than Trump, according to polling.
