First Lady Jill Biden slammed Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley's talk of older politicians — including 80-year-old President Joe Biden — needing mental competency tests during an interview with CNN.
"Nikki Haley, one of the Republican candidates, is calling for mental competency tests for those politicians over the age of 75. What do you think about that?" Arlette Saenz, CNN's White House Correspondent, asked the first lady.
TRUMP WELCOMES 2024 CHALLENGES FROM DESANTIS AND HALEY
“It's ridiculous,” she responded during the sit-down interview with CNN.
"Would your husband ever take one of those [competency tests]?" the CNN reporter asked.
“We would never even discuss something like that,” Jill Biden said in the extensive sit-down interview, which will air in its entirety this week.
Biden, the oldest person to serve as U.S. president, is expected to run for a second term, which would make him 82 years old at his inauguration if he won reelection.
Haley had floated the idea of politicians over age 75 taking competency tests in her Feb. 15 speech announcing her run for the White House.
“In the America I see, the permanent politician will finally retire,” said Haley. “We’ll have term limits for Congress. And mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old.”
In her presidential campaign launch speech, Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, calls for term limits for Congress and "mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old." https://t.co/BhM97NHxnN pic.twitter.com/Bm7Pdj2Y3u
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 15, 2023
“America is not past our prime,” she added. “It’s just that our politicians are past theirs.”
Haley's proposal led to CNN This Morning co-host Don Lemon making the controversial remark the next day that she was not "in her prime."
Don Lemon TRIGGERS female CNN panel into utter meltdown after SHOCKINGLY telling them they’re not in their “prime”????
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 17, 2023
pic.twitter.com/l65C0Lrg3b
The former ambassador to the United Nations under President Donald Trump ripped Lemon during her speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday.
"He claimed I'm not in my prime, and which I responded, hold my beer. I'm 51. That's younger than Don Lemon," Haley clapped back.
.@NikkiHaley: "I said every politician over 75 years old should be required to take a mental competency test. [...] Don Lemon didn't seem to like that too much. He claimed I'm not in my prime and which I responded, hold my beer. I'm 51. That's younger than Don Lemon." pic.twitter.com/O5ESEWRP66
— The Hill (@thehill) March 4, 2023
She also doubled down on her proposal for government officials to take a competency test.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
"For the record, I was right. Every politician and judge should have to take a competency test. If you want to start at age 50, I'm good with that too," the former South Carolina governor said. "I didn't say the same for sexist middle-aged anchors, but Don Lemon proved that CNN should consider that as well."
Following Haley's comments in February, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the White House doctor who has served as Biden's longtime physician, performed a three-hour examination on the president and reported that the president remained healthy, vigorous, and fit to successfully execute his duties.