Trump Personally Insults Reporters Over Questions On His 'Perfect' Brain

In a moment that blended Donald Trump's signature self-praise with sharp personal attacks, the U.S. President recently boasted about his 'perfect' brain and readily offered to release the results of an MRI he had underwent. However, this display of confidence came at the expense of two female reporters, whom he personally insulted for daring to ask about the specifics of his medical examination.

The episode seemingly highlights the consistent opacity surrounding the health of the president while underscoring his willingness to use his alleged mental acuity as a weapon against critics and the press. The controversy surrounds an atypical physical examination Donald Trump received in October at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Initially, the president claimed to have 'no idea' what part of his body doctors analysed during an imaging test.

Meeting with White House pool reporters after landing in Maryland Sunday evening, he was again pressed for details about the recent scan. Previously, he had vaguely stated, 'I had no idea what they analysed, but whatever they analysed, they analysed it well, and they said I had as good a result as they'd ever seen'.

But on Sunday, he doubled down on his claim. However, he clarified that the MRI was not of his brain 'because I took a cognitive test and I aced it'. In a rare move concerning his medical history, he stated for the first time that if 'they want to release it, it's okay with me to release it'.

Before departing the media scrum aboard Air Force One, Trump delivered a swift personal attack, telling two female reporters that they would be 'incapable' of acing the cognitive test in the manner he claims he did. The targeted insult serves as a potent reminder of the combative relationship he often maintains with the press, particularly when questions challenge the narrative he seeks to present about his personal abilities and health.

The Cognitive Test: Donald Trump's Weapon of Choice

The administration's communication regarding the October MRI has been notoriously vague. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, when asked earlier in the month about her promise to follow up regarding the reason for the MRI, offered a non-answer. According to The Associated Press, while she stated she was 'glad' for the question, she did not provide a definitive reply.

Leavitt did confirm that Trump 'received advanced imaging' at Walter Reed 'as part of his routine physical examination'. However, echoing the resident's lack of clarity the following day, she declined to specify which part of the body was scanned.

The administration's conspicuous silence on the specifics of the October MRI stands in contrast to the vague, yet positive, statements they have offered about his health in the past. 'The full results were reviewed by attending radiologists and consultants, and all agreed that President Donald Trump remains in exceptional physical health,' Leavitt claimed.

The president spent approximately three hours at the Bethesda, Maryland, hospital for what his doctor, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, described as a 'scheduled follow-up evaluation' and 'part of his ongoing health maintenance plan'. During the visit, Trump also received his yearly flu jab, as well as a COVID-19 booster vaccine, AP reported.

Barbabella also noted that he had evaluated Trump's cardiac age, which was found to be about 14 years younger than his chronological age. Trump is 79, and he was the oldest U.S. President at his inauguration. Initially, the White House described the Walter Reed visit as a 'routine yearly checkup', despite Donald Trump having had his annual physical in April; the president later referred to it as a 'semiannual physical'.

Boasting Brain Power: The Controversy Over Donald Trump's Cognitive Acuity

Donald Trump has consistently leveraged his alleged success on a cognitive test as a tool to mock political opponents and now, the media. He mentioned in October that he took a cognitive test during his physical exam, which he used to insult Democratic Reps Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jasmine Crockett, calling them 'low IQ' and suggesting they would perform poorly in the same examination.

'Those are really hard, they're really aptitude tests, I guess, in a certain way. But they're cognitive tests,' he explained. 'The first couple of questions are easy. A tiger, an elephant, a giraffe, you know. When you get up to about five or six, and then when you get up to 10 and 20 and 25, they couldn't come close to answering any of those questions.'

He forcefully reminded reporters on Nov. 14 of his allegedly excellent result on the test, describing it as an 'advanced, a very advanced test of mental acuity'. He went on to assert, 'I think a president should have to do that. And as you probably heard, I aced it. I got a perfect score. I got the highest score, I got the perfect score. And the only reason I tell you that is it's one subject, unlike Biden and others, that you can take off your plate'.