Nikki Haley’s apparent barb at Joe Biden reeks of ageism
Hearing former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s suggestion that “anyone above a certain age in a position of power — whether it’s the House, whether it’s the Senate, whether it’s vice president, whether it’s president — you should have some sort of cognitive test” reminded me of President Ronald Reagan’s brilliant response when the question of age was brought up during a 1984 debate with Vice President Walter Mondale.
“I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience,” Reagan said, making everyone including Mondale, then 56, laugh and smile.
Reagan was just shy of his 70th birthday when he first became president on Jan. 20, 1981. He was 78 when he left the White House.
Haley’s remarks, made during an appearance on a Christian Broadcasting Network program, were of course directed at President Joe Biden, who will turn 79 in just a few weeks. CBN was founded by Pat Robertson who, at age 91, is the network’s chairman and still regularly appears on the network.
Haley’s former boss President Donald Trump, meanwhile, is now 75.
Whatever you think of Biden or Trump, Haley’s remarks reeked of ageism and that’s nothing to joke about.
Back in June, the Washington Post posted an article headlined “This Senate is the oldest in American history. Should we do anything about it?” You know a younger person probably wrote that headline.
The reality is the U.S. population is living and often working longer and discrimination in the workplace based on age is a serious issue.
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, “An employment policy or practice that applies to everyone, regardless of age, can be illegal if it has a negative impact on applicants or employees age 40 or older and is not based on a reasonable factor other than age.”
Given that standard, perhaps all politicians of all ages should be taking these cognitive tests Haley supports.
I’d wager some of the youngest ones likely wouldn’t fare too well.
This story was originally published November 5, 2021 at 9:40 AM.