OAN Roy Francis
UPDATED 9:23 AM PT – Tuesday, March 7, 2023
First Lady Jill Biden said that President Joe Biden would “never even discuss” the idea of taking a mental competency test as suggested by presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
Haley, who announced her candidacy in February, had presented the idea of a mandatory competency test for politicians who are 75 years of age and older.
During an interview with CNN, the first lady was asked if the president would consider taking such a test, since he would be turning 82 at his inauguration if he was to be reelected.
“It’s ridiculous, we would never even discuss something like that,” she said. “How many 30-year-olds could travel to Poland, get on the train? Go nine more hours, go to Ukraine, meet with President Zelenskyy? So, look at the man. Look what he’s doing. Look what he continues to do each and every day.”
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) had also slammed the idea of a competency test, calling it ageist. According to Sanders, the test is not necessary to determine whether a person is competent or not.
“We are fighting racism. We’re fighting sexism. We’re fighting homophobia. I think we should also be fighting ageism,” he said during an interview with CBS in February. “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.”
Joe Biden, who is the oldest person to serve as United States President at 80-years-old, has been constantly questioned about his abilities to successfully perform his job.
The president had previously said he intends to run for a second term, however, he has not made an official announcement of yet. The First Lady said that it is his choice, and she will support him in his decision.
“It’s Joe’s decision,” she said. “We support whatever he wants to do. If he’s in, we’re there. If he wants to do something else, we’re there too.”