Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley‘s increased condemnation against President Joe Biden‘s and former President Donald Trump‘s mental acuity took on a renewed gravity in the wake of an alarming report from special counsel Robert Hur last week.
The report about Biden’s mishandling of classified documents included observations about the president’s ability to recall key life moments, such as the year of his late son Beau Biden’s death and his tenure as vice president.
In several ways, the report validated an attack that Haley stressed in her presidential campaign launch in Charleston, South Carolina, one year ago: The myriad octogenarian lawmakers need to make way for a younger generation of politicians who have the mental stamina and energy to lead for the next decade.
In the final weeks before the Feb. 24 South Carolina primary, in which Haley is attempting to stave off Trump, the renewed push against the seniority of Biden, 81, and Trump, 77, could give her a bump among GOP voters. But whether it will catapult her to victory over Trump is questionable at best.
“Nikki has been talking about getting rid of the permanent politician and calling for mental competency tests since she announced,” Haley spokeswoman AnnMarie Graham-Barnes said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “Seventy percent of Americans don’t want a rematch between two grumpy 80-year-old men and are hungry for a new generation of conservative leadership. She will continue to hammer that message on the trail.”
Besides launching a “Grumpy Old Men” ad campaign and trolling Trump with a mobile billboard attacking his age, Haley’s campaign began passing out mock competency tests during a weekend barnstorm of the Palmetto State. The taunting led to a minor skirmish on social media between a Trump spokesman and Haley’s campaign manager.
“Braindead Birdbrain and her campaign showing how f***ing stupid they really are,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung wrote on X.
Haley’s campaign manager, Betsy Ankney, continued the mocking when she replied, “Thanks sweetie ?”
The heated words are just another example of the bitter battle between Haley and her onetime boss, Trump.
Despite losing primary contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Haley is adamant her campaign will last through Super Tuesday, on March 5, an infuriating move to Trump.
The former president is hoping to consolidate the GOP and remaining primary contests so that he can focus on his legal drama and a general election matchup against Biden. But Haley remains the last rival in his way.
Haley is banking that Trump’s and Biden’s mental health will prompt weary voters to think she is the only true electable candidate in November. Polls have long shown voters are concerned about Trump’s and Biden’s ages.
An ABC News/Ipsos poll on Sunday showed 59% of people think Biden and Trump are too old to serve another term.
“Whoever takes this job, you’ve seen before-and-after pictures. It just takes a toll,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), a Haley supporter, told the Washington Examiner in an interview. “She’s got the stamina, she’s got the youth, and she’s always had a mental capacity. And I think that’s just one of her messages.”
Norman also stressed that unlike Trump and his penchant for childish nicknames, Haley’s criticisms are not meant to be personal.
“She’s making a case. Are you the same person at 50 that you are at 80? And no, there’s a difference,” Norman continued. “And you got the most demanding job in the world, as highlighted by Joe Biden, whoever is running this country is not him.”
Patrick Arnold, CEO of the Arnold Group, a political consulting firm based in South Carolina, claimed that Haley’s focus on Biden’s and Trump’s ages might not move the needle enough in the Palmetto State to save her from defeat on Feb. 24.
“I do believe that this will help Nikki, but most importantly, it’s going to hurt Biden’s public perception because of all the other factors right now. And it’s a legitimate question,” Arnold said.
Trump leads Haley by more than 30 percentage points in South Carolina, according to a RealClearPolitics poll average. After steamrolling Haley in the previous nominating contests, Trump is likely on his way to a dominant victory over Haley again later this month.
Haley often points to hypothetical matchups in which she defeats Biden as part of her electability argument and why she isn’t exiting the race. But at least one GOP expert said Haley’s claim that she has the mental capacity over Biden and Trump is irrelevant to voters.
“It only benefits Trump more than it benefits Nikki,” said a Republican South Carolina operative, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. “Yes, she drew attention to it earlier. But it’s a reminder to Republicans that Donald Trump or Nikki Haley can beat Joe Biden. They don’t need to go with a quote-unquote more electable candidate. Either one is electable in this scenario.”
The operative pointed to another vexing problem for Haley. Voters are more likely to penalize Biden for his age than Trump. The ABC News/Ipsos poll this week showed that 27% said only Biden was too old for another term, while just 3% said Trump was too old for a second term.
“There’s no comparison of Donald Trump and Joe Biden when it comes to where they are mentally. So with that in mind, she’s really struggling to find kind of a message in a lane that converts,” the operative added.
Perhaps one of the biggest frustrations for Haley is that Republicans and independents put off by Trump make up a sizable but not majority of the GOP vote, a factor that is helpful in a general election race but not in a primary contest against Trump.
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“A lot of voters say they know Trump will win. But they still like Nikki and have a sentiment of hoping she does well,” Arnold said of the South Carolina primary, though he did offer some words of caution.
“A lot can happen,” he said. “Somebody could have another prosecutor report that talks about how they can’t color inside of the line.”
