Dr. Jill Biden, the First Lady of the United States, totally dismissed the idea of her husband, President Joe Biden, taking a competency test for older politicians.
Dr. Jill was interviewed on CNN at the time, and the host asked the First Lady about a proposal by presidential candidate Nikki Haley for the competency test for any politician over 75.
She responded to the question by saying that the whole idea was “ridiculous.”
“We would never even discuss something like that,” she added when asked if her husband would consider such a test, according to CNN.
“It’s ridiculous.”
President Biden is already 80 years old, and he is the oldest person to be president in the history of the nation. Concerns have been raised on both sides of the aisle concerning his mental capacity and his physical fitness for the office.
All through his first term, there have been falls and trips that have occurred, the most recent was on his way up the stairs of Air Force One. He fell twice. And there have been multiple times when he has fumbled for words at the microphone.
Nikki Haley hit two birds with one stone with her proposal. Both Biden and Trump would have to take the test. Haley served in Trump’s administration as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
At a rally kicking off her campaign, Haley said, “We’ll have term limits for Congress and mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old.”
Dr. Jill wasn’t alone in her dismissal, 81-year-old Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), responded to Haley’s proposal by calling it “absurd” and encouraging people to fight against ageism.
Joe Biden said that he intends to run for a second term but has yet to make such a decision official.
“It’s Joe’s decision,” Dr. Jill said. “And 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.”
First lady Jill Biden pushed back on concerns about President Biden's age and dismissed a proposal by Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley for politicians over age 75 to take a mental competency test. https://t.co/yga9Tq1XM7
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) March 5, 2023