Donald Trump made an outlandish claim Wednesday that Vice President Kamala Harris had failed the bar exam, while challenging her to take a cognitive test.
During an interview at the convention for the National Association of Black Journalists, Trump responded to a question from Semafor’s political reporter Kadia Goba, who asked if he would be willing to take a cognitive exam.
“I would love to do it,” Trump said, brushing past Goba’s follow-up about releasing the results. Instead, Trump said he had pushed to take a cognitive test with Joe Biden, and said the same offer applied to his new, far younger opponent.
“I would do it with her also. You know what? She failed her law exam, she didn’t pass her law exam, so maybe she wouldn’t pass the cognitive test,” Trump said shrugging.
The audience instantly burst into noisy chatter. “Oh—” someone said into the microphone, cringing at the outrageous claim. Another person went “pfft” into the microphone.
“Are you saying she wouldn’t pass?” asked ABC News’s senior congressional correspondent Rachel Scott, whom Trump repeatedly scolded throughout the interview.
“I’m just giving you the facts,” Trump insisted. “She didn’t pass her bar exam. And she didn’t think she would pass it, and she didn’t think she was gonna ever pass it. And I don’t know what happened, maybe she passed it.”
Trump claims that Kamala Harris would fail a mental acuity exam.
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) July 31, 2024
"You know what? She failed her law exam. She did not pass her law exam, so maybe she would not pass the cognitive test. I am just giving you the facts... she did not pass her bar exam." pic.twitter.com/74XYWFWiL6
Scott asserted, as the president spoke over her, that Harris had, of course, passed the bar. That much can be assumed from someone who served as the Los Angeles County district attorney and attorney general of California.
