US President Joe Biden will unlikely make it till 86 even if he is re-elected, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has said.
Warning that his supporters will have to be content with Kamala Harris in the Oval Office. Nikki Haley’s remarks came as criticism of Biden’s recent announcement that he will seek re-election in 2024.
“I think that we can all be very clear and say as a matter of fact that if you vote for Joe Biden you really are counting on a President Harris, because the idea that he would make it until 86 years old is not something that I think is likely,” Haley said during a discussion on Fox News on Wednesday.
Responding to this, the deputy press secretary at the White House, Andrew Bates, said, “As you know, we don’t directly respond to campaigns from here. But honestly, I forgot she was running.”
Haley launched her presidential bid around a “new generation” of leadership, arguing that candidates above 75 years should take cognitive tests. The proposal was promptly slammed by US First Lady Jill Biden.
Biden, who announced his candidature on Tuesday, doesn’t see his age as an issue despite facing flak from critics.
“I can’t even say I guess how old I am. I can’t even say the number. It doesn’t register with me. I took a hard look at it before I decided to run. And I feel good,” Biden told reporters on Tuesday.
Opponents to Biden’s candidature pointed to the President’s gaffes as a sign of his declining mental health. At 80, the Democrat is the oldest President in US history.