Less than 48 hours after announcing her candidacy for president in 2024, Republican candidate Nikki Haley is already calling for major policies, including a mandatory “mental competency test” for politicians over the age of 75.
The comments from Haley came during a rally in Charleston, South Carolina, as she kicked off her bid for the White House while taking a jab at President Joe Biden and her former boss, former President Donald Trump.
Haley touched on several other political topics during her event, including enacting term limits for members of Congress and taking a stronger stance on illegal immigration.
However, the most explosive vow she made during the event was her promise to make politicians take cognitive tests to hold their office. This led to the main point of her speech and campaign, Americans need younger leaders.
“In the America I see, the permanent politician will finally retire,” Haley said. “We’ll have term limits for Congress and mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old.”
Experts have called the move from Haley smart as the last two presidents have been the oldest to hold the office in the nation’s history.
Haley’s comments also come as younger Americans — and Americans in general — want to have political leaders that relate closer to them than their grandparents.
Last July, a poll from The New York Times and Siena College found that 18-to-29-year-olds dissaproved of how Biden was doing his job, as only 1% of Americans in the age range approved. A December poll from Suffolk University/USA Today found that 50% of Americans consider 51 to 65 years old to be the ideal age for the country’s next president, and 25% would prefer an even younger president, between 35 to 50 years old.
If the ballot in 2024 were to be a 2020 rematch, then Trump, if he won, would be 78 by the time of the 2025 inauguration, and Biden would be 82.
A continuing Republican criticism of President Biden has been his cognitive state, constantly pouncing on his continued gaffes, arguing that they are a sign he isn’t mentally fit to serve as president.
While Trump announced his campaign a week after the 2022 midterms, Haley is the first major Republican to challenge the former president. Meanwhile, across the aisle, Democrats expect Biden to announce his reelection bid soon, but he has not done so yet.
As for the newcomer on the block, Haley is expected to make visits to Iowa and New Hampshire soon, as both states are the first to hold Republican nominating contests. She continues to fight an uphill battle to earn her party’s nomination, as Republicans still favor Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has not announced a campaign as of yet.
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