Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley bashed President Biden over his age, saying he isn’t likely to make it until 86 years old, which would be his age at the end of a second term.
“I think we can all be very clear and say with a matter of fact that if you vote for Joe Biden, you really are counting on a President Harris because the idea that he would make until 86 years old is not something that I think is likely,” Haley said on Fox News on Wednesday.
Biden launched his reelection campaign on Tuesday with a video establishing the Biden-Harris ticket for 2024; he has faced questions over his age and whether he is up for a full campaign season and four more years in office.
Haley launched her presidential campaign in February and proposed a competency test for politicians over 75 years old, taking a stab at Biden, 80, as well as former President Trump, who is 76.
Haley told Fox this week that Biden’s age is “why I’ve continued to say we need to have mental competency tests … starting at 75 just to make sure that these people deciding our national security, deciding our economy policy, deciding what happens to our kids in schools. It matters.”
“But really, are we willing to say we’re OK with a President Kamala Harris? Is that what we’re looking at? Because that’s the reason we’ve got a country to save,” she added.
Haley argued that Biden thinks his handling of hot-button issues are “fine,” including the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, the Chinese spy balloon earlier this year, illegal immigration, crime, and the economy.
“He thinks they’re all fine; they’re not,” she said.
And, she criticized Biden’s handling of the 2020 presidential campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic in which he leaned into virtual campaigning and media appearances from inside his home.
“I think there’s a reason that he campaigned in his basement in the last election. He got a pass. This time, how much is he going to do?” Haley said.
The president on Wednesday addressed swirling questions about his age, saying “there’s more to do and with regard to age, I can’t even say — I guess how old I am — I can’t even say the number. It doesn’t register with me.”
“They’re going to judge whether or not I have it or don’t have it,” Biden said about voters. “I respect them taking a hard look at it … I took a hard look at it before I decided to run. And, I feel good, I feel expected about the prospects.”
His campaign launch made it clear that he is laser focused on preventing Trump from returning to the White House, and he made no mention of Haley.