Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley may be standing on her last leg in the race against former President Donald Trump for the GOP nomination, but she just received a big endorsement from a member of Congress.
On Sunday, Representative Ralph Norman of South Carolina touted Haley’s “youth,” while also attacking how old Trump is and what that means for a future presidency. He pointed to the now infamous slip-up Trump made when he seemed to mention Haley’s name instead of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi while giving a speech at a weekend rally.
Even though Haley once served as the governor of South Carolina, Norman is one of only a few elected officials from the state who is backing her over Trump in the race
While making an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” Norman said that Haley being 25 years younger than Trump is a big deal in this election.
He said:
“[Trump’s] policies were great. What he did was great for the country, particularly with what Biden is doing now. But, it’s time for a change. I think the youth — Nikki just turned 52. She’s 25 years younger than Donald Trump. …
“Donald Trump can only give you four years. It’s like a football team can only play half of the game. It’s going to take eight years to get this country straight. But, Nikki’s youth and the fact is, she can give eight years.”
In other words, Norman was saying that Trump’s advanced age would make it very difficult for him to win re-election and serve well for a prospective second term. Trump would be 78 years old at the start of his next term, and would be 82 when a hypothetical second term would begin.
President Joe Biden, by comparison will be 82 years old at the start of his second term in the White House, if he wins re-election in November. And many Republicans have attacked the Democrat as being unfit for the job because of his age.
Norman seemed to be inferring that there should already be questions about Trump’s mental fitness for the job when he said:
“[Trump] got [Haley] confused yesterday with Nancy Pelosi on January 6 with the National Guard. And I would say 25 years ago, he wouldn’t have made that mistake, but he kept saying, Nikki Haley did this … with the National Guard.
“He was talking about Nancy Pelosi. And that’s another example of … he wouldn’t have made that mistake if he was younger.”
Haley is now the last competitor to Trump standing in the race for the GOP presidential nomination. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race earlier this week — and subsequently endorsed Trump for the job — after a poor second-place showing in the Iowa caucuses.
Even though Haley finished third in the caucuses, she’s not dropping out just yet. She expects to do better in New Hampshire, and then in South Carolina — the next two states on the primary calendar.
