GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Tuesday claimed Donald Trump “has declined” mentally since his first White House run — unleashing her strongest attack yet on her rival’s age.
“Are we really in this country going to have two 80-year-olds running for president?” Haley, 52, said on “CBS Mornings,” referencing President Biden, 81, and Trump, 77.
“It is a fact that when you are their age, you have mental decline. I don’t care who you are. You have mental decline,” she said.
Haley noted that Trump repeatedly got her confused with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at a recent rally speech.
“He didn’t just get me confused, he mentioned it over and over and over again. He’s not what he was in 2016 [when he first ran for president]. He has declined,” she said.
The top Trump rival has called for a generational change in the White House, criticizing both her Republican primary foe and Biden for seeking another term.
Trump’s campaign responded by blasting her back-to-back losses to him in Iowa and New Hampshire and lagging poll numbers in even her home state of South Carolina.
“At this point, Nikki Haley is nothing more than a pro-war Democrat mouthpiece for her pro-war Democrat donors, and clearly voters don’t agree with the stupidity she is spewing,” said Trump rep Karoline Leavitt to The Post. “If they did, Nikki wouldn’t have been crushed by more than 30 points in Iowa, beat by double digits in New Hampshire, defeated in Nevada, and about to suffer her worst loss yet in her own state of South Carolina.”
On Saturday, Trump said he feels “sharper now than I did 20 years ago,” while speaking at a rally in Nevada.
Haley had previously repeatedly questioned Trump’s mental capacity but dodged making any direct accusations about Trump’s “decline” until now.
“The concern I have is, I’m not saying anything derogatory, but when you’re dealing with the pressures of the presidency, we can’t have someone else that we question whether they’re mentally fit to do this,” Haley said Jan. 20 while campaigning in New Hampshire.
“My parents are up in age, and I love them dearly,” she told reporters at a campaign stop the same day. “But when you see them hit a certain age, there is a decline. That’s a fact — ask any doctor, there is a decline.”
Despite her remarks, Haley had also maintained that she believes Trump is “fit” for office.
“My parents are up in age, and I love them dearly,” she told reporters at a campaign stop the same day. “But when you see them hit a certain age, there is a decline. That’s a fact — ask any doctor, there is a decline.”
The former UN ambassador has asked for all presidential candidates to take mental acuity tests, something Biden has refused to do.
Trump has gone one step further, calling for both mental and physical tests.
Haley’s escalation toward Trump comes as the two continue to battle for the GOP nomination.
She is preparing to go head-to-head with him in the South Carolina primary Feb. 24, hoping she can defend her territory where she once served as governor.
Advertisement