Person, woman, man, camera, TV

"Person, woman, man, camera, TV" is a phrase that then-U.S. President Donald Trump used several times during a July 22, 2020, Fox News interview with Marc Siegel, a professor of medicine at New York University.[1][2] Trump used the phrase while describing part of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), a cognitive test used for detecting cognitive impairment, that he took at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in 2018.[3]

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The phrase has since become an internet meme and gone viral on numerous social media platforms, including Twitter and YouTube.[4][5]

Interview

Marc Siegel, a medical correspondent for Fox News, interviewed Trump on July 22, 2020. In the interview, Siegel asked Trump about his overall mental capabilities.[6] When asked, the president made reference to the MoCA, a cognitive test he took at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Describing the testing protocol, the president claimed that the exam was difficult but that he had passed it easily:[7]

It was 30 to 35 questions. The first questions are very easy. The last questions are much more difficult, like a memory question. It's, like, you'll go: Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV. So they'll say, 'Could you repeat that?' So I said, 'Yeah. So it's: Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.' If you get it in order you get extra points. Okay, now he's asking you other questions, other questions, and then, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes later they say, 'Remember that first question, not the first, but the 10th question? Give us that again. Can you do that again?' And you go: 'Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.' If you get it in order, you get extra points. They said nobody gets it in order. It's actually not that easy, but for me it was easy.

— Donald Trump, Fox News July 22, 2020 interview

Reactions

Celebrities,[8] Twitter users,[4] and cartoonists[9] soon parodied the phrase and it was made into online merchandise.[10]

Trump's boast of his intellectual ability on the MoCA garnered criticism from medical professionals, including those who administer MoCA tests.[11] Neurology professor James Galvin stated that the MoCA is a screening test, "not a diagnostic test, and more importantly ... not an IQ test. It doesn't tell how smart someone is. It's designed to be a relatively easy test because what you want to do is pick up people who have problems or possible problems."[11] Some medical professionals also pointed out the fact that the five words given are normally unrelated, unlike the words that Trump repeated.

Former 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton used the phrase responding to an article about Republican congressman Matt Gaetz's alleged misuse of taxpayer money, to which he responded, "Epstein. Flight logs. 26 trips. No Secret Service".[12] Comedian Sarah Cooper satirized the phrase in a YouTube video in which she mainly lip-synced with the interview's audio.[13] Comedians Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah and Jimmy Fallon also parodied the phrase.[8]

Noam Chomsky said about the phrase on July 24, 2020 in an interview, "As you say, the test is given for dementia, incipient dementia, a serious mental illness, but, what can you say about a person, before speaking, before... an adoring crowd, raises his eyes to heaven and calls himself the chosen one? What can you say about an administration where the secretary of state says 'Perhaps, Trump has been sent by the good lord to save Israel from Iran'? The country's being run by mad men."[14]

Jason Kravits turned the phrase into a tango called "The Padded Cell Block Tango" using footage from the 2002 film adaptation of the stage musical Chicago and the interview.[15]

On August 1, 2020, signs emblazoned with the phrase were plastered outside Trump's golf course.[16]

See also

References
  1. Brito, Christopher (July 23, 2020). ""Person, woman, man, camera, TV": Trump describes difficulty of recent cognitive test". CBS News. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  2. Bump, Phillip (July 23, 2020). "Person focuses every woman and man in America on his mental abilities via camera, TV". Washington Post. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  3. Rogers, Katie (July 22, 2020). "Trump Defends His Cognitive Testing Results on Fox News. Again". New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  4. Welsh, Caitlin (July 22, 2020). "Trump's latest boast about his 'very hard' cognitive test instantly became a bleakly funny meme". Mashable. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  5. Mazza, Ed (July 23, 2020). "Trump's 'Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.' Gets Hilariously Weird Makeovers". Huffington Post. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  6. Baker, Peter (July 23, 2020). "Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.' Didn't Mean What Trump Hoped It Did". New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  7. "Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV. What's the deal with cognitive test Trump says he took?". Syracuse. July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  8. Blistein, Jon (July 24, 2020). "Colbert, Trevor Noah Revel in Trump's 'Person, Woman, Man, Camera, TV' Moment". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  9. Jones, Clay (July 24, 2020). "Claytoonz: Person Woman Man Camera TV". Tucson Weekly. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  10. Emmrich, Stuart (July 24, 2020). "Trump Bragged About It. Now You Can Wear It: 'Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.'". Vogue. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  11. Lemire, Jonathan; Borenstein, Seth; Weissert, Will (July 24, 2020). "'Person, woman, man, camera, TV': Trump slams Biden on mental sharpness in a presidential battle of septuagenarians". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  12. Gancarski, A.G. (July 24, 2020). "'Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.': Hillary Clinton and Matt Gaetz spar on Twitter". FLAPOL. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  13. Owen, Phil (July 25, 2020). "Sarah Cooper Shows Trump How to 'Person, Woman, Man, Camera, TV' (Video)". The Wrap. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  14. "'Man. Woman. Camera. Person. TV.': Noam Chomsky Responds to Trump Bragging He Aced a Dementia Test". Democracy Now!. July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  15. Gallucci, Nicole (July 28, 2020). "We spoke to the guy who turned Trump's cognitive test into a catchy tango". Mashable. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  16. Bicks, Emily (August 1, 2020). "Trump's Golf Course Trolled With 'Person, Woman, Man, Camera, TV' Signs". Heavy. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
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