Nikki Haley fired back at Don Lemon on Thursday after he suggested that she was past the “prime” age for women.
During the Wednesday speech launching her presidential campaign, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador called for mandatory mental acuity tests for elected officials over the age of 75, a jab at both 80-year-old President Joe Biden and 76-year-old former President Donald Trump, who is currently Haley’s only rival for the Republican nomination.
Lemon made headlines Thursday when he said on “CNN This Morning” that Haley’s proposal made him “uncomfortable.”
“I think it’s the wrong road to go down. She says people, you know, politicians are suddenly not in their prime. Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime. Sorry, when a woman is considered to be in her prime [is] in [her] 20s and 30s and maybe 40s,” Lemon said.
Haley fired back with a tweet later that morning. “Liberals can’t stand the idea of having competency tests for older politicians to make sure they can do the job,” she wrote. “BTW it’s always the liberals who are most sexist.”
Liberals can’t stand the idea of having competency tests for older politicians to make sure they can do the job.
BTW it’s always the liberals who are the most sexist. pic.twitter.com/PzpniQFLff
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 16, 2023
During the “CNN This Morning” segment, co-host Poppy Harlow pushed back, asking Lemon if he was referring to childbearing years. Lemon claimed to be citing objective “facts” about the duration of a woman’s “prime” and urged audience members to Google it. (RELATED: NBC Host Presses Nikki Haley Over Flip-Flopping On Challenging Trump)
“I’m not saying I agree with that,” Lemon added. “So I think she has to be careful about saying that, you know, politicians are in their prime.”
Haley officially announced her candidacy Wednesday after teasing the announcement for months.