Former President Donald Trump isn’t listening to any criticism about his age and claims about his mental missteps, saying he is fully there and up for the job.
Trump faced criticism after he appeared to mix up his fellow GOP nominee competitor, Nikki Haley, with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday.
Haley, who is in a tight race with the former president for the New Hampshire Caucus, jumped on the opportunity to say that Trump, 77, is aging out and that he isn’t mentally fit to serve another term, criticism Republicans often throw at President Joe Biden, who turned 81 last year.
“The concern I have is, I’m not saying anything derogatory, but when you’re dealing with the pressures of a presidency, we can’t have someone else that we question whether they’re mentally fit to do this,” Haley said.
This isn’t the first time that Trump has allegedly mixed up who he is talking about, as last year, several took a shot at him for saying former President Obama was president.
In November, he deflected the comments, saying he did so on purpose, and then echoed the same point during a rally on Saturday in New Hampshire.
“A lot of times, I’ll say that President Obama is doing a lousy job, meaning that Obama is running the show,” Trump said. “They’ll say, Donald Trump doesn’t know who our president is. No, no. A few months ago, I took a cognitive test my doctor gave me. I said give me a cognitive test, just we can, you know, and I aced it. I also took one when I was in the White House.”
During the rally on Saturday, Trump continued to defend his mental state, saying he would let people know before he “goes bad.”
“I’ll let you know when I go bad,” Trump said. “I really [don’t] think I will be able to tell you because someday we go bad.”
He also went at Haley over her claims, saying he doesn’t mind being 77 despite politicians being criticized recently for staying in office late into their golden years.
Haley has made a point of running on this sentiment, saying she would have politicians over 75 take “mandatory competency” tests to be in office.
However, Trump doesn’t seem to be bothered by the attacks from the former South Carolina Governor.
“They always say, like Haley, she talks about, ‘yeah, we don’t need 80-year-olds,” Trump said. “Well, I don’t mind being 80, but I am 77. That’s a big difference.”
