Jill Biden has dismissed Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley's recent proposal to introduce mental competency tests for politicians over age 75 as "ridiculous."
When asked if her husband would consider taking a mental capacity test if re-elected next year during an interview with a US media outlet, the US First Lady said, "We would never even discuss something like that."
Joe Biden’s wife then recalled his surprise visit to Kiev last month to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying it was proof of the 46th US president’s stamina and fitness to be at the helm of his country.
"How many 30-year-olds could travel to Poland, get on the train, go nine more hours, go to Ukraine, meet with President Zelensky? So, look at the man. Look at what he [Joe Biden]’s doing. Look at what he continues to do each and every day, the First Lady added.
Haley floated the proposal to test older politicians on their mental proficiency when she announced that she was running for the 2024 Republican nomination in February. She was apparently referring to 80-year-old Biden, the oldest president in US history, and former POTUS Donald Trump, 76, who earlier threw his hat into the presidential ring again.
Jill Biden’s remarks come as netizens lashed out at the 46th president making another unproven claim that he was involved in the civil rights movement when he was young.
Most Twitter users slammed POTUS as a "liar", writing that "If Biden is speaking - he is lying" and that "This guy has a terrible lying problem!", among other posts.
The criticism followed the US president visiting Selma, Alabama to commemorate the 58th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday". On March 7, 1965, a 600-person civil rights demonstration in Selma ended in violence after marchers were attacked and beaten by white state troopers and sheriff's deputies.
“I was a student up north in the civil rights movement. I remember feeling how guilty I was, [that] I wasn't here. How could we all be up there, and you going through what you went through," Biden claimed during an address to the crowd. However, there is reportedly no historical evidence to prove the 46th president's claim.
POTUS has repeatedly been trolled over his frequent gaffes and weird gestures that add to speculation about his cognitive decline, raising questions from conservatives about whether he is mentally able run the country.