Trump repeats same story over and over as signs of deterioration mount

Either the nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump believes a cognitive test is an intelligence test or he's lying about his mental health. I don't think there's a gray zone here. If it's the first, he's demented. If it's the second, he's hiding something (probably dementia). Either way, it's bad.

It happens too frequently to ignore. The president brags about passing a cognitive test to the point where he seems to believe it's a measure of his IQ. In public remarks, he often puts special emphasis on the word "cognitive" as if to stress that it demonstrates his intelligence. Here's what he told the New York Post after a third trip in a year to Walter Reed. "I do physicals because I think I have an obligation to do it. I took a cognitive test and I got 100 percent on it. The doctors told me very, very few people can ace it. It's actually a tough test."

That's only the latest iteration. I went to the Bluesky feed of Aaron Rupar, founder of Public Notice. Aaron watches most of Trump's public appearances. I searched for "cognitive."

On May 22, during a rally, Trump said:

On May 4, during a presser, Trump said:

On May 1, during a speech, Trump said:

On March 26, during a Cabinet meeting, Trump said:

On December 2, 2025, during a Cabinet meeting, Trump said:

On October 9, 2025, a day before going to Walter Reed, Trump said:

On April 14, 2025, in the Oval Office, Trump said:

There are only a few examples drawn from Aaron Rupar's vast archive, and I hasten to add here that I'm sorry for making you read the same story over and over. However, that's the point I'm trying to make. The sheer mass of repetition is itself a sign of age-related cognitive deterioration – or, to use a catch-all term, dementia. The president can't remember the last time he told the story and doesn't care, because the purpose of telling it is there's nothing wrong with him. Indeed, the purpose is more than that. It's proving his genetic superiority.

A cognitive test is not a test of intelligence and any man of modest intelligence would understand that from having taken a cognitive test. Trump, however, is not that man. He is famed for being stupid, a fact that he's exquisitely sensitive to. I suspect it literally causes him pain when his narcissism collides with the reality of other people's opinion of him. He believes he is superior by dint of his genes and if you disagree, you must be crushed. As his mind slips away, however, the gap widens between his view of himself and everyone else's. And the wider the gap gets, the more he must attempt to reassert dominance. As he said: "they said 'he’s really not a smart person at all.' I really hated that, so I took a cognitive test."

Think of it this way. By passing "the cognitive," Trump believes that:

1. nothing is wrong with him;
2. indeed, something is very right with him;
3. it's better than all other presidents combined;
4. his enemies are intellectually inferior and;
5. it's evidence beyond a shadow of doubt of his genetic superiority over lesser mortals, who in turn have no right to challenge him. Donald Trump is a Very Special Boy. He aced it three times! The doctors were wowed! Science proved it! Enemies can now shut up.

That's not just narcissism. That's dementia, too. They can't be separated. Indeed, as he grows more demented, he will grow more narcissistic (as hard as that it to believe). That he appears to have given up on being president illustrates the point. While the war against Iran burns up the American economy, Trump talks about reflecting pools being taller than the Empire State Building. He posts deranged images of enemies on social media. He falls asleep on live television. None of that matters. "The cognitive" affirms his right to rule unchallenged.

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