Call me tyrant, not dumb: Trump defends mental fitness at New York rally

Key Takeaways

• US President Donald Trump on Friday said he does not mind being labelled a “tyrant” or a “dictator” by critics, but strongly objected to being called “dumb”, using the remark to launch into a lengthy defence of his mental fitness during a rally in New York.
• Addressing supporters at an event focused on affordability issues, Trump drifted away from prepared remarks and recounted what he described as a conversation with his doctor after critics questioned his cognitive abilities.
• According to multiple media reports, the 79-year-old president said the criticism pushed him to undergo a cognitive assessment to prove detractors wrong.
• Read Full Story “They hit me with a bad one: He’s a dumb person,” Trump told the crowd, before joking about the spelling of the word and saying he would rather be called a “brilliant tyrant dictator” than unintelligent.
• Trump then claimed he asked his doctor whether there was a test available to evaluate his cognitive abilities.