Sanders says Haley's call for competency test 'absurd'

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) blasted former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, for floating the idea that politicians over the age of 75 should face “competency tests,” calling the thought “absurd.”

“I think that's absurd,” Sanders said in an interview on CBS’s “Face The Nation.” “We are fighting racism, we're fighting sexism, we're fighting homophobia, I think we should also be fighting ageism.”

Haley, 51, called for a new generation of GOP leadership as she launched her White House campaign last week. The call for a test of the competency of politicians is seen as a shot at President Biden, who is 80, and former President Trump, who is 76.

But Sanders, 81, said on Sunday that voters should assess politicians on their merits and not their age, weighing what they believe in and what sort of policies they support.

“Look at what they do, what they believe in,” Sanders said. “What are they fighting for? What does Donald Trump stand for? Do you believe in that? Well, I certainly don't. What does Joe Biden stand for? What is he doing? Look at him in that way, not on age.”

Sanders also joked that “there are a lot of 40-year-olds out there who ain't particularly competent.”

Sanders has said he will support Biden, the oldest sitting president, in 2024 if he plans to run again. Biden would be 82 at the start of a second term.

“I think there's a general consensus right now that President Biden has done, not everything we would like, he has done a good job,” Sanders said on CBS. “And again, I can't speak for anybody else. But what I have said is, if he runs, announces that he is going to run, I will support him.”