Almost 24-hours after the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test stumped CNN’s late-night dunces, Chris “Fredo” Cuomo and Don Lemon (who couldn’t correctly identify a picture of a rhino), the mental acuity test claimed yet another CNNer in OutFront host Erin Burnett. But not in the way you’re expecting.
In a Thursday interview with test developer and neurologist, Dr. Ziad Nasreddine, Burnett pressed for him to unseat President Trump’s confidence in acing his exam. Not only did Nasreddine say the test was hard, but he also noted that people with perfect cognitive function often don’t do well on parts of the exam.
After setting the baseline that the test was meant to assess whether or not someone was developing mental and neurological illnesses and for people/families with those concerns, Burnett seemed to hint at the portion of the test that stumped her colleagues and said some were calling it “a very easy test.” “Again, if you don’t have any cognition or memory issues, is it? I mean, how would you describe it,” she asked.
In noting that the test was designed to be difficult and that “it could be somewhat hard for somebody who is normal,” the doctor didn’t give his host the answer she was hoping for, and the look on her face betrayed her intentions.
“Especially the five-word recall,” he added, which was a section Trump had specifically boasted about. “And most patients do not get the five words. Most normal people would not get the five-words after five or ten minutes. Most of them get 3.7 words. So, it's not that easy to go through the whole testing.”
Attempting to pivot to place suspicion on why the President had the test conducted, Burnett wondered: “And why would you take it multiple times? Would that be sort of over time to see if you're seeing a decline in memory? As you talk about this is as kind of a gauge for Alzheimer's?”
As Nasreddine answered the question, he explained how “it's not uncommon to have the test repeated once a year or every two years if the person is expressing some concern or the family is concerned.”
Perhaps one might have the test conducted because an opposition press have continuously spread dubious conspiracies about your mental acuity and you wanted to rub it in their faces.
Circling back around to pressing her guest on the difficulty of the assessment, Burnett played a soundbite of Trump bragging about doing well and asked: “Is that fair, the last five questions are hard and a fully normal person who didn’t have any memory issues would have trouble?”
Dr. Nasreddine once again disappointed CNN by immediately poking holes in her premise, noting only 10 percent of people get the President’s score:
Actually, I think he's referring to the five-words question, because it is challenging. Some people get only two out of five, three out of five. It's not everyone who gets five out of five or 30 out of 30, like I mentioned before. Only 10 percent of normal individuals get 30 out of 30.
The more CNN tried to trip up the President on his cognitive abilities, the more they expose the lack of theirs.
Burnett getting burnt by the cognitive exam was sponsored by Wayfair and the ASPCA. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront
July 23, 2020
7:55:52 p.m. Eastern(…)
ERIN BURNETT: Trump touting the results as another reason why he should be re-elected. Out front now, Dr. Ziad Nasreddine, he a neurologist who created the test the President took. And Dr. Nasreddine, I really appreciate your time. So, the White House, of course, has not released these details, but the President said he aced your test and he keeps talking about it like it's an IQ exam. Help us understand what is on the test.
DR. ZIAD NASREDDINE: Yes, this test is meant to assess cognitive functions, meaning that we are assessing which cognitive domains could be effective, and neurological illnesses. So, we usually look at memory, concentration, attention, executive functions, perception. So all these skills are assessed to determine somebody's cognition is okay.
BURNETT: So, just to kind of understand would a healthy person who does not have any suspected cognitive issue or memory issues or concentration issues need to take this test?
NASREDDINE: The test is to meant to assess someone who is concerned or family is concerned about their performance. So, they usually go to their general practitioner or to a memory clinic, and we do this screening cognitive exam to assess their cognition. So, it's not meant to be done for somebody who is not concerned about it.
BURNETT: Okay. So, this is obviously important for everyone to understand. You know, people have been sharing some portions of the test. The President obviously talked about some. And then there was one, you know, a question that asks if a patient can recognize a drawing of a lion. They've been doing this to sort of suggest that it’s a very easy test. Again, if you don’t have any cognition or memory issues, is it? I mean, how would you describe it?
NASREDDINE: The test has been developed and it took many years to develop because it has to be hard enough to pick up subtle kinds of deficits that are early signs, for example, of Alzheimer's. So, it is meant to be a hard for patients who have a cognitive disorder.
It could be somewhat hard for somebody who is normal, especially certain questions are harder than others. Especially the five-word recall. And most patients do not get the five words. Most normal people would not get the five-words after five or ten minutes. Most of them get 3.7 words. So, it's not that easy to go through the whole testing.
BURNETT: And why would you take it multiple times? Would that be sort of over time to see if you're seeing a decline in memory? As you talk about this is as kind of a gauge for Alzheimer's?
NASREDDINE: I mean, we usually take it often once a year, every two years if you have a concern. We just want to check the progression of our memory, if our memory is doing well, if there's any decline with time. After a certain age, there could be some decline because it's more common after 70 to have cognitive disorders, so it's not uncommon to have the test repeated once a year or every two years if the person is expressing some concern or the family is concerned.
BURNETT: So, when asked about the ease of some of the questions, the President talked about the difficulty of later portions of the test. And obviously you just made a point. The five-word recall could be very challenging for someone who does not have onset of memory issues. But here's how he described it.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Yes, the first few questions are easy. But I'll bet you couldn't even answer the last five questions. I bet you couldn’t. They get very hard.
BURNETT: Is that fair, the last five questions are hard and a fully normal person who didn’t have any memory issues would have trouble?
NASREDDINE: Actually, I think he's referring to the five-words question, because it is challenging. Some people get only two out of five, three out of five. It's not everyone who gets five out of five or 30 out of 30 like I mentioned before. Only 10 percent of normal individuals get 30 out of 30.
BURNETT: Wow. Well, Dr. Ziad Nasreddine, I really appreciate your time.
