At a New Hampshire campaign rally, Donald Trump claimed to have “aced” a recent cognitive test and struggled to pronounce the word “climate,” footage from the event shows.
“I don’t know if you saw, but a few months ago, I took a cognitive test my doctor gave me,” Mr Trump told supporters at the Saturday event.
His comments came just after former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley questioned whether the former president was mentally capable of taking office again after he appeared to repeatedly confuse her with former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a campaign speech on Friday.
…
Dr Jonathan Reiner, a medical analyst for CNN and professor of medicine and surgery at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, called into question why Mr Trump would need multiple cognitive tests, considering he also took a cognitive test while serving as president.
It’s all spin. This is him “getting ahead” of recent events before others have a chance to tell the story in the direction you’re citing. All because you’re right, and they know it’s a bad look.
Edit: the technique is also called “Anchoring”, and can be used to shape narrative and discussion if you’re the first one to open your mouth about something.