Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley tore into CNN’s Don Lemon on Thursday after the host made comments suggesting women over the age of 50 are no longer in their “prime.”
Haley, who announced a run for the presidency earlier this week, shared a video clip of the host’s comments and wrote, “liberals can’t stand the idea of having competency tests for older politicians to make sure they can do the job.”
“BTW it’s always the liberals who are the most sexist,” Haley, who also sent a fundraising email blasting Lemon, said.
Haley, 51, has called for competency tests for politicians over 75 years old as part of her campaign launch.
“This whole talk about age makes me uncomfortable. I think it’s the wrong road to go down. She says people, you know, politicians or something are not in their prime,” Lemon said on CNN’s morning program Thursday. “Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime, sorry. A woman is considered to be in their prime in 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.”
Lemon’s comments, which sparked instant push back from his female co-hosts, were widely mocked on Thursday morning across social media.