Don Lemon Sets Off Co-Hosts Over Nikki Haley’s Competency Tests For Aged Politicians: She’s ‘Not In Her Prime’ Either

Things got awkward on the set of CNN This Morning after Don Lemon curiously suggested that Nikki Haley should not call out older politicians because she’s past her “prime” as a woman.

The conversation on Thursday focused on Haley’s presidential campaign launch, specifically the part of her speech where she called for mental competency tests for politicians aged 75 and up. As Kaitlan Collins noted the dig at both Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, Lemon led the discussion astray by wondering if Haley is anyone to judge politicians for being older.

Lemon: This whole talk about age makes me uncomfortable. I think it’s the wrong road to go down. She says people, you know, politicians are suddenly not in their prime. Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime. Sorry, When a woman is in their prime in 20s and 30s and maybe 40s…

Poppy Harlow: What are you talking — Wait…

Lemon: That’s not according to me.

Harlow: Prime for what?

Lemon: It depends. It’s just like, prime. If you look it up. If you Google when is a woman in her prime, it’ll say 20s, 30s, 40s.

Harlow: Forties! Oh my god, I have another decade.

Lemon: I’m not saying I agree with that. So I think she has to be careful about saying that, you know, politicians are in their prime.

Harlow: Are you talking about prime for, like, childbearing? Or are you talking about prime for being president?

Lemon: Don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just saying what the facts are. Google it. Everybody at home, when is a woman in her prime? It says 20s, 30s and 40s. I’m just saying Nikki Haley should careful about saying that politics are not in their prime, and they need to be in their prime when they serve. She would not be in her prime according to Google or whatever it is.

Lemon continued to bemoan the age of politicians being a “wedge issue,” even amid his suggestion that women being in their “prime” for president has to do with their physical state rather than their political wisdom. He then tried to back himself up somewhat by telling his co-hosts, “My mom is 80 years old. I just gave her a surprise birthday party…Is she as physically strong as she once was? No. But mentally, she is sharp. Could she run the country? If she wanted to, I guess she could. But I guess it depends on the individual.”

This wouldn’t be the first time sparks flew between Lemon and his co-hosts during a conversation about gender. The moment also comes after the recent flare-up between Lemon and Collins.

Watch above via CNN.

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