Mensa offers to administer IQ tests to Trump and Tillerson


It's time, once and for all, to separate the geniuses from the morons.
Mensa, a prominent "high IQ society," has offered to administer IQ tests to both President Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in an attempt to put Morongate behind them. It all started when NBC News and other organizations reported that over the summer, Tillerson had called Trump a "moron" after a meeting at the Pentagon; the report was quickly denounced by Trump and not denied by Tillerson. During an interview with Forbes on Tuesday, Trump was asked about Tillerson's alleged comment, and Trump said he thought it was "fake news, but if he did that, I guess we'll have to compare IQ tests. And I can tell you who is going to win." At least he challenged Tillerson to an IQ test rather than, say, a duel.
Mensa later entered the fray, with spokesman Charles Brown telling The Boston Globe that the group is willing to test Trump and Tillerson, and is in fact "happy to offer our test to anybody really who's interested in joining our society," noting that Trump and Tillerson are not and never were members. You don't have to be the world's smartest person to read between those lines.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Kirsty Coventry: the former Olympian and first woman to lead the IOC
In the Spotlight Coventry, a former competitive swimmer, won two Olympic gold medals
-
Critics' choice: Carrying the flag
Feature The best barbecue in town, Bradley Cooper's cheesesteak restaurant, and more
-
Film review: Materialists
Feature Two suitors seek to win over a jaded matchmaker
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from
-
Judges order release of 2 high-profile migrants
Speed Read Kilmar Ábrego García is back in the US and Mahmoud Khalil is allowed to go home — for now
-
US assessing bomb damage to Iran nuclear sites
Speed Read Trump claims this weekend's US bombing obliterated Tehran's nuclear program, while JD Vance insists the US is 'not at war with Iran'
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.
-
Marines, National Guard in LA can detain Americans
speed read The troops have been authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration raids
-
Trump vows 'very big force' against parade protesters
Speed Read The parade, which will shut down much of the capital, will celebrate the US Army's 250th anniversary and Trump's 79th birthday