Trump's Attack on Biden's Cognitive Ability Came Back to Bite

In a rare case of "just desserts," Trump's assault on Joe Biden has come back full circle to bite him in the rump. Trump put out a campaign television ad implying Biden's cognitive abilities are impaired, by showing an array of various clips of the vice-president tripping over his words. Biden has a minor stuttering problem which is common knowledge, but it has not prevented him from being a successful senator for many years, or Vice-President of the United States to President Barack  Obama. Some of the ad's clips show instances when Biden struggled with his train of thought, which we all do from time to time - except for a very few.

Donald J. Trump is indeed one of the very few - a pathological liar extraordinaire. Trump lies effortlessly, even without the necessity of contacting or consulting his brain which is a given. The lies pour forth like running water out of a faucet. I have to marvel at his ability to lie; because it is bar none to any other person I have seen. Trump does not care about lying - it comes natural to him, and telling the truth is inconsequential. There is no guilt or even an elaborate thought process involved in the fabrication process.

I guess that's why the Republican Congress and him gets along so well, because their actions are surely indicative of who comes first. When they failed to impeach Trump for extortion of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky  clearly put their positions and agenda over the national security of the American people. It is also why they can callously without any provocation of conscience decree "blue states" die, and "red states" live.

Trump has chosen his prolific lying press secretaries well, except for Sean Spicer. I don't think Spicer is above lying (which he has), but he did not possess the skill set of his successors. I never thought any one could beat Sarah-Huckabee Sanders as a liar, but  Kayleigh McEnany and her are pretty much a dead tie. If anyone should ever need a training course in lying, these two should give it.

Trump feeling triumphant about his "cognitive ability" in a Fox News interview with medical correspondent Marc Siegel, bragged about his ability to recall the 5 words sequentially in the photo above. The words are "person." "woman," "man," "camera," and "television."  Trump was beaming with pride in the interview. He touted his superior ability, and claimed it was demonstrative of his high level of intelligence. After all, he is a self-proclaimed genius. Siegel listened to him, smiling and head moving like a bobble head doll as Trump expressed admiration for his own ability.

Trump recounted how the doctor who administered the test, came back 20 minutes later and asked him to repeat the same 5 words again. Guess what? Trump did! That's right -  he was able to repeat the same 5 words in sequence! "Person." "woman," "man," "camera," and "television!" Trump proclaimed the doctor and staffed marveled over his ability to cite the same five words in order. In their fanfare, they told him most people are not able to. The test Trump was given is the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and is primary administered to determine if one has dementia. It have also been used to diagnose those with Alzheimer’s, ALS, Schizophrenia, and a few others mental disorders.

It is hard to determine what, if there's any element of truth to Trump's claim on how he performed on the test. Trump said he took the test recently at Walter Reed Medical Center. Dr. Ronny Jackson who claimed how well Trump did on the test has not been at Walter Reed since January 2018. Jackson, ended up in hot water for writing excessive prescriptions, and ultimately did not assume the role of Trump's top physician.

Trump tooted his horn which ultimately resulted in a dazzling display of his own ignorance regarding the test he had taken. "Person." "woman," "man," "camera," and "television." I can honestly say every person I have talked to about this; all parroted the same 5 words with no problem. I certainly find it plausible, however, if someone has dementia, or Alzheimer’s, he or she very well might not be able to cite those 5 words in sequence.

We need ways to access one's cognitive ability, and by no means am I poking fun at the test or negating the necessity for it. My point is the Montreal Cognitive Assessment is not used to determine one's intelligence acumen unlike Trump is claiming. The test administered to Trump is not a test to measure one's mental acuity or fitness - it is design to determine if one has dementia, a neurological impairment, or some other mental illnesses that impacts one's cognitive abilities. With all of the manufactured accolades, I can't help but wonder upon completion of the test, if they offered Trump some form of reward or refreshment. Milk and cookies perhaps...