Jill Biden calls competency tests for older politicians 'ridiculous'
First lady Dr. Jill Biden, in comments aired Sunday, shot down a call for "mandatory mental competency tests" for politicians over 75, calling it "ridiculous."
Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Republican Nikki Haley first proposed such a test last month when she announced her presidential candidacy.
Asked in an interview on CNN if 81-year-old President Joe Biden would ever agree to such a test, the first lady responded: “We would never even discuss something like that.”
Donald Trump, who has already launched his campaign for the presidency, is 76. He supports the tests.
"ANYBODY running for the Office of President of the United States should agree to take a full & complete Mental Competency Test simultaneously (or before!) with the announcement that he or she is running,” Trump posted on Truth Social last month.
Trump once referred to Revolutionary War "airports" in a national speech on July 4, 2019.
Dr. Biden said her husband has more stamina and energy than many 30-year-old politicians.
“How many 30-year-olds could travel to Poland, get on the train? Go nine more hours, go to Ukraine, meet with President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy?” she asked. “Look at the man. Look what he’s doing. Look what he continues to do each and every day.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who is 81, and other lawmakers immediately blasted Haley's proposal after she announced it. Sanders called it "ageist."
“We are fighting racism. We’re fighting sexism. We’re fighting homophobia. I think we should also be fighting ageism. Trust people, look at people, and say, ‘You know, this person is competent. This person’s incompetent.’ There are a lot of 40-year-olds out there who ain’t particularly competent,” Sanders told CBS News.
Dr. Biden's comments were included in a preview of a full interview that will air at 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday on “CNN Primetime: Jill Biden Abroad."
See a teaser of the documentary below or at the link here:
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