'Why the hell would I take a test?': Biden says he hasn't taken a cognitive test after Trump challenged his mental ability
- Former Vice President Joe Biden clarified that he has not taken a cognitive test, following challenges from President Donald Trump to take one.
- The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee was pressed on the topic as Trump and his allies have continuously argued that Biden is mentally unfit to hold office.
- Trump has recently taken a cognitive test himself, which he says he "aced."
- Biden and Trump will face off for the first time in the first presidential debate scheduled for September.
Former Vice President Joe Biden balked at the idea of taking a cognitive test and revealed that he has not taken one, following ongoing charges against his mental acuity from President Donald Trump and his allies.
"No, I haven't taken a test," Biden said during a panel interview hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists and National Association of Hispanic Journalists, to be aired in full on Thursday. "Why the hell would I take a test?" he added, scoffing at the question posed by CBS' Errol Barnett.
Biden pushed back at the implication that he would need to examine his mental state and compared the suggestion to being tested for drugs.
"Come on, man," he said. "That's like saying you, before you got on this program, you take a test where you're taking cocaine or not. What do you think? Huh? Are you a junkie?"
"What do you say to President Trump who brags about his test and makes your mental state an issue for voters?" Barnett asked.
"Well, if he can't figure out the difference between an elephant and a lion, I don't know what the hell he's talking about," Biden responded, laughing.
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee mocked Trump for boastomg in multiple interviews about taking a cognitive test, which he said he "aced."
"They say, 'That's amazing,'" Trump of the doctors who administered the test."'How did you do that?' I do it because I have, like, a good memory. Because I'm cognitively there."
Trump has suggested that Biden take the test to compare results between the two.
"In a way, he has an obligation to," Trump said. Medical records are not required to be disclosed for presidential candidates. Biden, 77, is three years older than Trump.
The Trump campaign has also falsely accused Bidenof being unwilling to face the president one-on-one in a presidential debate.
Biden shut down the allegation in the interview and signaled he is eager to duel with the president during the first debate scheduled for next month.
"I'm so forward to looking to have an opportunity to sit with the president, or stand with the president, in debates," Biden said. "I am very willing to let the American public judge my physical as well as my mental fitness and to make a judgement about who I am."