ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Thursday snapped at Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley for arguing President Joe Biden would not survive a second term in office.
Stephanopoulos pressed Haley on voting for former President Donald Trump over Biden if Trump were to be convicted on any of the 91 charges brought against him.
“I didn’t quite understand part of your answer there,” Stephanopoulos began. “The Republican nominee likely to be running against not Kamala Harris, but Joe Biden. Why would it be better to vote for a convicted felon than President Joe Biden?”
“Well, you’re assuming that he’s convicted and you’re assuming he’s gonna be the nominee, George, and I disagree with both of those,” Haley responded.
“No, you asked a question that was based on that assumption, and you said you would vote for him,” Stephanopoulos pushed back.
Haley then argued ” a vote for Joe Biden is a vote for Kamala Harris” due to the 80-year-old president’s age and mental capacity. She said a Harris presidency should “send a chill up every American’s spine.” (RELATED: Retractable Stairs, Tennis Shoes, Other Concessions Show Biden’s Old Age Creeping Up)
Stephanopoulos interrupted Haley to question how she is certain Biden will not finish his second term.
“Well, excuse me, excuse me, one second, how do you know Joe Biden’s not gonna finish his term? What is that based on?” he asked.
“Ask Americas, do you think he’s gonna finish his term?” the Republican candidate said. “Do you think that he’s actually gonna finish what he started? We look at the decline he’s had over the last few years. You have to be honest with the American people, George. There’s no way that Joe Biden’s gonna finish out a next term. We can’t have an 81-year-old president. We have to have a new generational leader.”
“The Senate has become the most privileged nursing home in the country,” she continued. “We have got to start making sure we have a new generation. Everyone feels that way. Republican, Democrats and independents feel that and it’s time that the media acknowledge that.”
Stephanopoulos then argued Haley did not answer whether she has any basis to believe Biden will not finish his second term. Haley said the president’s mental “decline” is evidence he cannot serve a second term and reiterated her call for mental acuity tests for geriatric candidates.
Biden’s age is one of the most commonly cited reasons voters believe he should not run for a second term. A poll published by The New York Times/Siena in July 2022 found 64% of Democratic voters opposed Biden’s second candidacy, with most citing his age and job performance. An AP-NORC poll from April found 27% of potential voters want to see Biden run again, while over 70% do not. Biden has an approval rating of 41.6% and a disapproval of 52.8%, according to his RealClearPolitics (RCP) average. He is polling at 64.4%, RCP data shows, 51.2 points ahead of fellow Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Biden would be 86 years old by the time he departed the White House in January 2029.