Haley says Biden, Trump 'not normal' in response to dementia question
Nikki Haley on Tuesday took swings at both President Biden and former President Trump for “not normal” behavior as she argues both party front-runners are too old for another term.
In an appearance on NewsNation’s “The Hill,” Haley was asked about her remarks from earlier in the day, in which she said the presidency shouldn’t be given “to someone who's at risk of dementia.”
“Do you believe that Donald Trump has dementia currently? Do you believe that the current President Joe Biden has dementia at this moment?” NewsNation’s Blake Burman asked the former U.N. ambassador on “The Hill on NewsNation.”
“I think if you ask any doctor, they will tell you that when you are getting in your 80s you are prone to having that. Look, there's a reason pilots can't fly after 65. There's a reason [in the] military, they make you retire before 65,” Haley said.
Haley, who is 52, said she’s not seeing “normal behavior” from either contender. Biden is 81, the oldest president to serve in the Oval Office, while Trump is just a few years younger, at 77.
“We have serious issues. It is not normal to have an open border where we don't stop people from coming in. It is not normal that we focus more on gender pronouns than reading and math. That is what Joe Biden is giving us,” she said of the Democratic incumbent.
She then swung at the former president, her only rival in the GOP race.
“But look at what Donald Trump's giving us. It is not normal that you go and say you're gonna ban your opponents’ supporters and not- not allow them into your group. … It's not normal that you mock military members,” Haley said. She’s been hitting Trump heavily for his rhetoric on veterans after he made comments about her husband, who is deployed.
“None of that is normal behavior from either one of them,” Haley told NewsNation.
Haley’s the last candidate standing between Trump and the GOP nod, but she’s rejecting calls to get out of the race and continuing to hammer both Trump and Biden, hitting the idea of a Trump-Biden rematch and critiquing her rivals’ cognitive ability.
On Tuesday, Haley vowed to stay in the presidential race despite her poor polling numbers.
In her home state of South Carolina, which votes this weekend, Haley is trailing Trump by 30 points, according to the latest polling averages from The Hill-Decision Desk HQ.
No matter what happens in the Palmetto State’s primary, she’s said she plans to stay in at least until Super Tuesday, March 5, when more than a dozen states will hold their primaries and caucuses.
The Hill and NewsNation are owned by the same parent company, Nexstar Media Group.