Nikki Haley went after two presidential campaign rivals on Thursday, with former President Trump joining President Biden’s legal team after a federal special counsel declined to indict Biden on charges related to keeping classified documents. He joked that he should hire someone.
President Trump himself faces criminal charges related to illegally retaining classified documents after leaving the White House. The special counsel in the Biden investigation said it was certain that Biden had the documents, but that his actions were not criminal.
“The double standard is clear. Both Joe Biden and Donald Trump handled classified documents with reckless abandon,” Haley said. said in X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “If Mr. Biden’s defense is old age and forgetfulness, Mr. Trump could easily make the same argument. Mr. Trump should hire Mr. Biden’s lawyer immediately.”
Biden’s special counsel said the president was an “elderly man with a poor memory” who declined to indict him, but Biden’s lawyers disputed this characterization. The special counsel said Biden sometimes forgot the number of years he served as vice president and the exact year his son died.
President Trump has been hit with similar claims that age is having a negative impact on memory and behavior. Both of the leading candidates, 81-year-old Biden or 79-year-old Trump, will be the oldest presidents in U.S. history at the end of their second terms.
Haley focused on the age argument against Trump, arguing that she represents a new, younger generation of Republican leaders, unlike the former president’s 2016 supporters.
Although he is far behind Trump in national polls, he is pinning his hopes on a strong showing in the South Carolina primary. If the former Palmetto governor wins in his home state, it could change the course of the Republican primary, which has so far favored Trump by a wide margin.
Haley doubled down on Biden on Thursday, saying the president should undergo a mental competency test, which she first called for when she began her presidential campaign last year.
“Joe Biden cannot remember major events in his life, including when he was Vice President or when his son died,” Haley said in a statement from her campaign. “That’s sad, but it would be even sadder if we had someone in the White House who was mentally incapable of handling the most important job in the world. Joe Biden should undergo a mental competency test immediately. It should be shared with the people.”
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