First Lady Jill Biden sat down for an interview with CNN and defended her husband against claims that he is not mentally fit to be president. Things got awkward
“Nikki Haley, one of the Republican candidates, is calling for mental competency tests for those politicians over the age of 75,” the host asked. “What do you think about that?”
“It’s ridiculous,” Jill Biden replied.
“Would your husband ever take one of those?”
“I mean, we haven’t even discussed…” Jill Biden responded defensively. “We would never even discuss something like that.”
WATCH:
"Nikki Haley, one of the Republican candidates, is calling for mental competency tests for those politicians over the age of 75," the CNN host said. "What do you think about that?"
"It's ridiculous," Jill Biden replied.
"Would your husband ever take one of those?"
"I mean, we… https://t.co/zZ8JnVVTDq pic.twitter.com/ln4U5v05QK
— Becker News (@NewsBecker) March 6, 2023
The full interview wil air as part of “CNN Primetime: Jill Biden Abroad” at 9 p.m. ET on Monday.
As the Bidens prepare for an expected 2024 presidential campaign, the first lady pushed back on concerns about her husband’s age and mental competency.
“How many 30-year-olds could travel to Poland, get on the train? Go nine more hours, go to Ukraine, meet with President (Volodymyr) Zelensky?” she said. “So, look at the man. Look what he’s doing. Look what he continues to do each and every day.”
According to RNC Research, Joe Biden has spent 40% of his presidency on vacation.
Another weekend vacation in Delaware for Joe Biden.
Biden has spent 306 days — 40% of his presidency — on vacation. pic.twitter.com/ppgttq5Qfw
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 4, 2023
Jill Biden also responded to questions about whether or not Joe Biden will run for re-election.
“It’s Joe’s decision,” she said. “And we support whatever he wants to do. If he’s in, we’re there. If he wants to do something else, we’re there too.”
A former White House doctor under President Donald Trump, Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson, has been openly critical of current President Joe Biden’s mental health. He recently reacted to Biden’s cancerous lesion removal on “Sunday Morning Futures,” telling host Maria Bartiromo that Biden himself is the “cancer” and that he “needs to be removed.”
“I’ll start by saying that Biden is the cancer. He’s what needs to be removed, not the lesion they found,” he said when asked about Biden’s fitness to continue serving as president.
“They gave us a bunch of useless information about his cholesterol and stuff that no one cares about,” Jackson said about Biden’s health report. “All we care about in this country, with regards to President Biden – 80 years old, who’s got some obvious cognitive issues – is a cognitive assessment of some sort,” he said.
“We want something, on the record, to prove to us that he is cognitively capable of doing this job. It’s almost a moot point at this stage because we all know he’s not,” he added.
Follow Kyle Becker on Twitter @kylenabecker.