The View rushed to the defense of President Joe Biden after 2024 hopeful Nikki Haley blasted the POTUS for seeking a second term at age 80. Haley, who had her own age attacked by recently-ousted CNN anchor Don Lemon, was scolded by the Hot Topics panel for her “crass” words about the president.
“If you vote for Joe Biden, you really are counting on a President Harris, because the idea that he would make it until 86 years old is not something that I think is likely,” Haley said on Wednesday (April 26).
After playing the clip of Haley’s words, Sunny Hostin led the way with her disapproving remarks.
“That is completely crass, it’s terrible for his family and for him, to say something like that. A real politician, a good politician, doesn’t say things like that,” she said, before adding, “This country suffers from terrible ageism … There’s nothing to indicate that there’s anything wrong with Joe Biden.”
Ana Navarro chimed in to call out Haley’s “staggering hypocrisy” after the former South Carolina Governor was targeted in her own ageist attack by Lemon, who said she was not in her “prime” during a February broadcast.
“Just a few weeks ago, she was clutching her pearls and fundraising of the comment that Don Lemon made, saying that it was ageist, that it was sexist. Okay so, rules for thee but not for me?” Navarro asked. “So it’s okay for her to be ageist, but it’s not okay for somebody to be ageist about her?”
Navarro added, “I think it’s so tacky,” while Alyssa Farah Griffin agreed, characterizing Haley’s words as “morbid” and “crass.”
Still, the conservative panelist suggested that “the issue of Biden’s age is a legitimate one we need to talk about,” before noting that the average U.S. man lives to be 73.
The stat didn’t sit well with Hostin though, who shot back, “So should the rest of Congress retire?” And judging by the whoops and cheers from the audience, they were right on her side.
The View airs weekdays at 11/10c on ABC. Watch the full segment from this morning’s episode in the video above.