US5 min(s) read
Published 09:30 02 May 2026 GMT
If, like the rest of us, you spent Friday afternoon listening to Donald Trump describe a maths question involving the number 99, you might be wondering: how would you actually do on this 'tough' test?
The good news is, you can find out.
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment, or MoCA, is publicly available and used by practitioners in clinics all over the world.
The slightly less good news, at least for the president's narrative, is that it's not the brain-melting gauntlet he's been describing.
In case you missed it, Trump used a speech at The Villages on Friday (May 1) to once again talk up his performance on the cognitive test he says he's aced three times.
He claimed the first question asked him to identify a bear out of a lion, a giraffe, a bear and a shark.
He then said one of the 'tough' questions involved picking a number, multiplying it by nine, dividing by three, adding 4,293, dividing by two, subtracting 93 and dividing by nine.
For those keeping score, that maths question doesn't actually feature on the MoCA. At all.
So what does?
The MoCA is a 10-minute, 30-point screening tool designed by Canadian neurologist Dr Ziad Nasreddine. It's used to detect early signs of cognitive impairment, such as dementia or Alzheimer's.
It is not, despite what the president seems to believe, an IQ test.
Here are the actual questions you'd be asked.
1. Trail Making (1 point)
Draw a line connecting numbers and letters in alternating order: 1, A, 2, B, 3, C, 4, D and 5, E.
2. Copy a Cube (1 point)
You're shown a picture of a 3D cube and asked to copy it. All lines must be drawn, the shape must be three-dimensional, and the lines should meet with little or no space.
3. Draw a Clock (3 points)
Draw a clock face showing the time as ten past eleven. One point each for the contour (a proper circle), the numbers (all 12, in the right places), and the hands (correct length, pointing to the right spots).
4. Naming (3 points)
Identify three animals from line drawings. The standard version of the test shows a lion, a rhinoceros and a camel.
5. Memory (no points yet)
The examiner reads five words at a rate of one per second: 'face, velvet, church, daisy, red.' You repeat them. The examiner reads them again. You repeat them again. You'll be asked to recall them later.
6. Attention, part one (2 points)
The examiner reads a list of digits at one per second. You repeat them in the same order. Then a second, shorter list, which you have to repeat backwards.
7. Attention, part two (1 point)
The examiner reads a list of letters at one per second. You tap the table every time you hear the letter 'A.' More than one mistake means no point.
8. Attention, part three (3 points)
Count backwards from 100 in sevens. So: 93, 86, 79, 72, 65. Four or five correct subtractions earn three points. This is the only real maths on the test.
9. Sentence Repetition (2 points)
Repeat two sentences word-for-word. Standard examples are: 'I only know that John is the one to help today,' and 'The cat always hid under the couch when dogs were in the room.'
10. Verbal Fluency (1 point)
Name as many words as you can that begin with the letter F in one minute. Eleven or more earns the point. Names of people and places don't count.
11. Abstraction (2 points)
The examiner gives you two pairs of words and asks what they have in common. For example: a train and a bicycle (both forms of transport), and a watch and a ruler (both measure things).
12. Delayed Recall (5 points)
Remember those five words from earlier? Face, velvet, church, daisy, red. Now repeat them, with no hints.
13. Orientation (6 points)
One point each for correctly stating today's date, the month, the year, the day of the week, the place you're in, and the city you're in.
So what's a good score?
Add it all up out of 30. A score of 26 or above is considered normal. Anything below that suggests possible mild cognitive impairment and is usually a prompt for further testing.
There's also a bonus point if you've had 12 years of education or fewer, to account for the fact that some of the tasks rely on familiarity with reading and drawing.
According to his physicians, Trump has scored 30 out of 30 on multiple occasions.
Which, if accurate, means he correctly identified the animals, drew the clock, recalled all five words, and counted back from 100 in sevens.
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It's worth saying the test isn't really designed to be 'aced' as a flex.
It's a screening tool. Most healthy adults score 26 or higher without breaking a sweat.
The questions get progressively trickier, but they aren't designed to separate geniuses from the rest of us. They're designed to flag people who might be slipping.
So if you sit down with a printout and score 28, congratulations. You're cognitively normal. You're also, by the test's own logic, in roughly the same bracket as the man currently insisting it's 'a tough test.'
Just maybe don't bring up the number 99.
