Nikki Haley seeks ‘mental competency tests’ for old rivals

Daughter of Indian immigrants calls for a ‘new generational leadership’ and end of the status quo

As she kicked off her 2024 White House bid, the newly minted Indian American Republican presidential candidate, called for mandatory “mental competency tests” for politicians older than 75.

In what was viewed as a dig at President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump — two of the oldest men to ever occupy the White House — Haley, 51, told a rally in Charleston, South Carolina, Wednesday the United States needs a younger leader.

Read: Nikki Haley joins 2024 US presidential race (February 14, 2023)

“In the America I see, the permanent politician will finally retire,” the daughter of Sikh immigrants from India said. “We’ll have term limits for Congress and mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old.”

“Her remarks reflect a growing sentiment within both parties that their standard-bearers — Biden in the Democrats’ case, and Trump for Republicans — are simply too old to continue on in the White House,” according to The Hill. Trump would be 78 by the time he’d be hypothetically sworn in again as president, while Biden would be 82.

Republicans in particular have repeatedly questioned Biden’s cognitive state, seizing on a series of gaffes to argue that he’s not mentally fit to serve in the White House.

Haley announced her campaign on Tuesday in a video posted online, becoming the first major Republican to mount a challenge to Trump, who is once again seeking the party nomination. She’s expected to travel to Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states to hold Republican nominating contests, later this week.

Later in an appearance on Wednesday on Fox News, Haley called for generational changes when asked what differentiates her from Trump, who made her the first Indian American to serve in a presidential cabinet as US ambassador to the UN.

“Look at everything that’s wrong in this country and tell me we don’t need new leadership,” she said in response to a question. “But the difference is we need new generational leadership. We have to leave the status quo. We have to leave this chaos behind and we’ve gotta start talking about the future.”

Read: Nikki Haley faces a serious uphill climb: The Hill (February 3, 2023)

Haley vowed to be a Washington outsider who is able to resonate with the everyday voter paying higher grocery bills, being laid off from work and worrying about their children’s lost education due to the Covid pandemic.

“I understand that you should not have Americans looking up at the sky and seeing a Chinese spy balloon looking back at them. This is insanity. And what we need are a lot of changes,” she said.

“We’ve got to stop the spending addiction that is happening that is causing inflation to go up, and we need to start realizing that we don’t need our politicians getting on TV and talking. We need the people in DC doing, and we need to spark a fire up under them. And that’s what I’m willing to do,” she told host Sean Hannity.

Haley added that the Republican Party needs to expand its base to bring in the Hispanic, Jewish, Asian and African American communities and start speaking in a way that “[lifts] everybody up, not just a select few.”

“DC is broken. It’s been broken for a long time. We have to have the courage to walk away from the status quo, walk away from all the past problems and say, we are not going to leave this country to our children. We’re going to make sure that we leave our country better for our children because they deserve it,” she continued.

When asked what specific policies she holds that differ from Trump, Haley responded saying, ”I don’t kick sideways. I’m kicking for Joe Biden as the president. He’s the one I’m running against.”

“And what I’m saying is you don’t have to be 80 years old to be president. We don’t need to have these same people going back again. We need something new. We need a new generation of fighters,” she stated.

“We need people that understand what the American, your average American, is coming from. And we shouldn’t be afraid to fight for that. And that’s what I’m willing to do. I’m not going to kick sideways. I don’t have time for that. That’s not my focus. I’m kicking forward. It’s all about Joe Biden and it’s all about the people in America winning again.”

Read: Nikki Haley Taunts Geezer Rivals With ‘Mental-Competency Tests’ (February 15, 2023)

When asked about Haley’s bid for the presidency, Trump said in an interview with Fox News that he is “glad” she is running.

“I’m glad she’s running,” Trump said. “I want her to follow her heart — even though she made a commitment that she would never run against who she called the greatest president of her lifetime.”

Trump also attacked Haley for her previous support of cutting Medicare and Social Security. In an email titled “The Real Nikki Haley” sent minutes after her official campaign launch event, the Trump campaign noted Haley supported former Speaker Paul Ryan’s plan to eliminate Medicare and turn it into a voucher system.

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Read: In campaign style speech Nikki Haley touts her role at UN (December 3, 2021)