Former President Donald Trump has dismissed concerns over his mental fitness after his GOP rival Nikki Haley questioned his mental abilities.
“A lot of times, I’ll say that President Obama is doing a lousy job, meaning that Obama is running the show,” he said. “They’ll say, Donald Trump doesn’t know who our president is. No, no. A few months ago, I took a cognitive test my doctor gave me. I said give me a cognitive test just we can, you know, and I aced it. I also took one when I was in the White House.”
At his rally a day earlier in Concord, New Hampshire, the 45th president seemed to mistake former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with Ms. Haley when he blamed the former U.N. ambassador for the security failure of the Jan. 6 incident. President Trump has previously accused Ms. Pelosi of refusing National Guard support before the event.
“Because of lots of things … like Nikki Haley is in charge of security—we offered her 10,000 people, soldiers, National Guards, whatever they want. They turned it down. They don’t want to talk about that. These are very dishonest people,” the former president said.
Last month, Ms. Haley called for “mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old,” raising age concerns about President Trump, 77, and President Joe Biden, 81.
During the rally on Saturday, the former president assured his supporters that he would inform them if his mental health declined. “I’ll let you know when I go bad,” he said.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who some have speculated to be President Trump’s potential running mate, also dismissed Ms. Haley’s concern, saying “the reality is Nikki Haley is relying on Democrats, just like Nancy Pelosi, to try to have a desperate showing.”
Director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, Larry Sabato, on Jan. 20, also said Ms. Haley’s criticism of the 45th president’s age was “too little too late” to make a significant impact on the GOP primary.
Concern About President Biden’s Cognitive Abilities
The former president has often questioned President Biden’s age, saying he is too old to be a presidential nominee. Last month, in an interview with Breitbart, the 45th president said he “can’t believe” President Biden is going to be the Democratic nominee for the 2024 presidential race, citing the latter’s cognitive mental decline in recent years. “The guy can’t talk. The guy can’t put two sentences together. So, I do think this: I cannot believe he’s going to be the nominee. I hope he is. But I can’t believe he’s going to be the nominee,” he said.President Trump’s comments on President Biden’s cognitive decline is a concern that the American voters have also raised.
A poll published last month by George Washington University showed that only 38 percent of respondents rated President Biden as having the mental soundness to serve as president. For President Trump, this was higher at 46 percent.
A September poll from NBC News asked respondents about President Biden’s mental and physical health. An overwhelming 74 percent said they had “major” or “moderate” concerns about the issue. For President Trump, only 47 percent raised such concerns.
