In a recent interview that took a surprising turn, Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley, who has been a vocal advocate for the necessity of mental fitness evaluations for presidential candidates, experienced a notable lapse in memory. This incident occurred during her appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” where host Margaret Brennan brought up Haley’s persistent campaign for cognitive assessments.
Brennan pointed out Haley’s emphasis on mental sharpness, highlighting that the candidate had even begun distributing paper copies of a cognitive test, prompting the question of when Haley herself intended to undergo such an assessment. Haley responded confidently, expressing her willingness to take the test and reiterated her stance that mental competency tests should be mandatory for individuals over 75 years of age, suggesting that even those 50 and above could be included.
Haley’s argument is predicated on the belief that both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have shown signs of cognitive decline with advancing age, a concern she believes warrants official testing to ensure mental fitness for the nation’s highest office.
However, in a twist of irony, shortly after making her case for these cognitive evaluations, Haley appeared to misremember the date of one of the most pivotal moments in recent American history—the attacks of September 11, 2001. In a discussion about the importance of NATO and the United States maintaining a strong network of allies, Haley referred to the need for international friendships, especially in times of crisis.
She stated, “The last thing we ever want to do is side with Russia. What we always need to remember is America needs to have friends.” It was in this context that Haley misspoke, saying, “After September 10th, we needed a lot of friends,” inadvertently suggesting the wrong date for the 9/11 attacks.
Haley continued, emphasizing the importance of the U.S. never finding itself isolated from global support, yet her slip of the tongue has sparked conversations about the very issue of mental acuity she has been campaigning on.