Prospective Presidents Should Have to Take Cognitive Tests

U.S. presidents should not be cognitively impaired. If the chief executive is struggling to remember where they put their nuclear launch codes, they should not be allowed to run the nation. 

In the last general election cycle, Americans chose between two candidates — Donald Trump and Joe Biden — who were 78 and 81 years old, respectively. While not all the information is out about either of these individuals' cognitive health, many speculated as to Biden’s cognitive decline throughout his last term, according to a 2024 article by PBS. 

Trump is also under public scrutiny regarding his health, prompting him to release a statement that he had undergone an MRI and cognitive health tests, according to a New York Times article from Oct. 27. 

To establish trust in our public officials, I propose that the American government require prospective presidents to take and pass a cognitive assessment to assure voters that they are fully capable of performing their role. 

Medical transparency also strengthens the trust citizens have in institutions like the government. If a president wants to govern the nation the best he can, then maintaining public trust is vital.

It is necessary for public-safety that a president has the cognition to perform their job. The George W Bush Library writes that presidents have enormous power, comprising large military budgets, intelligence organizations like the FBI or the National Security Agency, U.S. forces around the world and access to the nuclear launch codes. 

If the leader of a global superpower can not function properly, it puts the U.S. as well as nations around the world at risk. Taking a cognition test can reveal these serious issues and nip safety risks in the bud. 

Psychology professor Frank Marchak suggested the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) as a good cognitive examination for this purpose. “[Cognitive decline] seems to be more of an issue now that our elected officials are getting older and older,” he said. 

The MoCA is a screening tool used to assess cognitive domains such as executive functioning, attention, language fluency and memory, according to Science Direct. Patients can score up to 30 points, with scores below 25 indicating cognitive impairment. 

Aging causes a decline in brain functions, including processing speed, working memory, episodic memory and long-term memory, according to a 2002 article from the journal of Psychology and Aging. For prospective presidents, a test like MoCA could catch these degenerations sooner rather than later. If these records do indicate cognitive decline, the president should be dropped from the race. 

Currently, there is no legal mandate for presidents to release their medical records. However, it should be a legal requirement to divulge at least some of the president’s cognitive status if it prevents them from doing their job. According to Section 3 of the 25th Amendment, if the president is unable to do their job due to a potential physical or mental impairment, they must voluntarily bestow duties onto the vice president.

The possible publicization of these tests could raise some privacy concerns. Business major Cooper McKee expressed worries about this topic. “Everyone’s health records are private, and you still deserve the same rights as any other American,” he said. 

However, financial engineering student Kershaw Mellott believes the records could help the country catch a potential liar in the act. “There is the ability to hide any cognitive issues behind the veil of a campaign,” he said. If cognitive health records are made public, then a declining president can’t fake it ‘til they make it. That is, a president can’t pretend that potentially serious issues are not affecting them.

Taking office with pre-existing cognitive issues might further damage a president’s health. The National Library of Medicine hypothesizes that long-term stress accelerates cognitive decline. It is no secret that being the president of the U.S. is very stressful, and if the commander-in-chief is already struggling with their mental function when they take office, their issues are bound to get worse. 

The presidency is the highest governmental rank an American can achieve, with the power to change the course of the nation and the world. For this reason, the American public deserves to know that anyone running can handle the job description — a healthy president means a healthy nation.