Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel and Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D) eagerly accepted President Donald Trump's challenge to take an IQ test, turning recent provocative comments into a comedic opportunity to challenge his cognitive claims.
Trump had repeatedly boasted about acing a cognitive test at Walter Reed Medical Center, asserting that "low IQ" Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Crockett couldn't pass the exam. In his original challenge, Trump declared, "You give [Ocasio-Cortez] an IQ test. Have her pass the exams that I decided to take. Let AOC go against Trump. Let Jasmine go against Trump."
Kimmel enthusiastically embraced the challenge, dubbing it "The James C. Kimmel Cognitive Aptitude and Mental Brilliance Invitational." He quipped, "Not only do I want to see this contest happen, I want to make it happen... I want to give our brilliant, bigly-brained president a chance to teach those left-wing lightweights a thing or two about brain power live on national television."
When Kimmel introduced Crockett, she responded: "I know that he can't seem to find himself in the Oval Office to make sure that he can end this shutdown, but he does have time to troll me. So, listen: If he's down, I'm down."
Crockett also highlighted an observation about Trump's rhetoric, telling Kimmel about the president's targets for his low-IQ comments, "They tend to be women, and they tend to be women of color."
The medical community has raised concerns about Trump's repeated claims that the Montreal Cognitive Assessment was "very hard," noting that the test is actually designed to be quite simple for adults.
Kimmel playfully mocked the test's complexity by asking Crockett basic identification questions, such as "Can you name this animal?" while showing her an elephant drawing. When she correctly answered, he joked, "Wow, you're gonna crush this."