Sandra Sabatés debunked claims by former U.S. President Donald Trump that he passed an intelligence test during a broadcast of the Spanish program “El Intermedio” [1].
The revelation highlights the gap between the former president's public framing of his cognitive abilities and the clinical purpose of the medical screening.
During the episode aired on May 6, 2026 [1], Sabatés said the assessment Trump referenced was not designed to measure high-level intelligence. She said the test is a screening tool used to detect dementia or Alzheimer’s disease [2].
The program, which broadcasts on La Sexta and streams on Atresplayer in Spain, focused on how Trump used the results to boast about his mental acuity [1]. Sabatés said that the nature of the test contradicts the image of superior intelligence the former president sought to project.
“Es una prueba para detectar demencia o Alzheimer,” Sabatés said [2].
The segment mocked the former president's interpretation of the results. Sabatés said that if Trump possessed superhuman intelligence, he might have recognized the actual purpose of the screening [1].
Reporting from La Voz de Almería also noted that Trump bragged about an intelligence test that was in reality a test to detect Alzheimer's [3]. The discrepancy between a cognitive baseline test and an IQ test is a central point of the critique presented by the Spanish broadcaster.
“Es una prueba para detectar demencia o Alzheimer.”
This incident underscores the ongoing political tension regarding the cognitive health of aging leaders. By distinguishing between an intelligence quotient (IQ) test and a cognitive impairment screening, the report suggests that passing a basic dementia test does not equate to high intellectual capacity, but rather indicates the absence of severe cognitive decline.
