Former President Donald Trump has thrown down the gauntlet to President Joe Biden, Rupert Murdoch, and his family, as well as the leadership of The Wall Street Journal, proposing they all participate in cognitive tests.
This challenge, announced on Trump’s Truth Social platform on September 10, comes in the wake of a WSJ survey that raised concerns about Trump’s mental readiness for office.
Trump stated, “I will determine the location and the nature of the test, and I’m confident none will match my performance. Perhaps we could even incorporate some physical tasks.”
He further highlighted his recent victory in the Senior Club Championship at a prominent golf club, emphasizing the mental and physical prowess required to win such a competition.
The survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal, which involved 1,500 registered voters between August 24 and 30, revealed that 73% felt that 80-year-old Biden might be too aged to pursue another term, while 47% expressed similar concerns about 77-year-old Trump. The poll also indicated that 60% doubted Biden’s cognitive capability to serve as president, with 49% expressing the same reservations about Trump. Additionally, Biden’s job performance was disapproved by 57% of those surveyed.
Trump, however, expressed skepticism about the survey’s findings on Truth Social, suggesting potential bias in the poll’s framing.
Another national poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which interviewed 1,165 adults from August 10 to 14, found that 77% believed Biden might not be fit for a second term due to his age, while 51% felt the same about Trump. When asked to describe Biden, 26% of participants used terms like “old” and “elderly,” compared to just 1% for Trump. Furthermore, 15% described Biden with words such as “slow” and “confused,” whereas only 3% used similar descriptors for Trump.
The topic of age limits for key government positions also emerged, with approximately two-thirds of participants advocating for age restrictions for roles like the president, Congress members, and Supreme Court Justices. Interestingly, more Democrats (72%) than Republicans (64%) supported an age cap for the presidency.
