<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Note: This article may contain commentary reflecting the author’s opinion.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In an interview with CNN, First Lady Jill Biden rejected<\/a> Republican presidential candidate, former South Carolina Governor, and United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley\u2019s idea that politicians over the age of 75 undergo tests for mental capacity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The First Lady explained to CNN that the idea is \u201cridiculous\u201d and that if President Joe Biden were to be reelected, he would not take a competency test since \u201cWe would never even discuss something like that.\u201d Moreover, Jill Biden defended President Biden\u2019s stamina and capacity for work. For example, she questioned CNN, \u201cHow many 30-year-olds could travel to Poland, get on the train, go nine more hours, go to Ukraine, meet with President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy? So, look at the man. Look at what he\u2019s doing. Look at what he continues to do each and every day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nonetheless, the problem of the president\u2019s age is an albatross across the administration. A Fox News poll<\/a> found that 77% of Americans favor requiring such tests. The support is also across generations: \u201c83% of millennials, 84% of Gen X, and 66% of Baby Boomers support the idea.\u201d In addition, other polls show that Democrats aren\u2019t too enthused with the prospect of another Biden run. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According<\/a>\u00a0to FiveThirtyEight, \u201cOnly 31 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said they want the party to renominate Biden, while 58 percent said they\u2019d prefer someone else.\u201d This means that a significant quantity of Democrats are willing to ditch President Biden for another nominee. Moreover,\u00a0Politico\u00a0<\/em>has\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0that senior Democrats privately fret that President Biden is too old, though they fear what will happen to Democrats if Biden doesn\u2019t run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, Haley\u2019s proposal would not only affect Biden, but her age limit would also mean that former President Donald Trump, whose age is 76, would have to take a mental competency test. Perhaps that is why there seems to be much opposition to Haley\u2019s proposal, not only among Democrats but also among Republicans. For example, former Vice President Mike Pence spoke against mental competency tests, saying, \u201cI think the American people can sort that out. I really do.\u201d Some commentators, such as Andrew McCarthy, have described<\/a> Haley\u2019s proposal as \u201ca poorly conceived, flatly unconstitutional solution to a real problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As has been\u00a0noted<\/a>\u00a0by Michael Brendan Dougherty, there does seem to be a cry amongst the American people for a generational change in who leads the nation. Yet, whether the proposal is constitutional or would be realistically achievable, it seems so far to have been the most notable proposal of Nikki Haley\u2019s presidential campaign. Additionally, it has served to highlight the issue of age amongst our political class, which,\u00a0according to polling<\/a>\u00a0and the fact that we are having this debate, is very much on the minds of the American people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n