🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday afternoon, Donald Trump mocked President Joe Biden with an impression of him speaking to the press, which sparked laughter from the audience.
The Context:
Questions relating to the age and mental fitness of Trump, 77, and Biden, 81, have been consistent talking points during the primary season. Additionally, age has also been a concern among voters in a hypothetical rematch between Biden and Trump.
Meanwhile on the campaign trail, Biden and Trump have made a series of gaffes that have come under criticism.
After sharing on Truth Social in November a medical report saying that he's in excellent health and his cognitive health was exceptional, Trump began to receive pushback as some questioned the accuracy of the report. However, this also comes as Biden has also had a history of verbal missteps that have come under heightened scrutiny as he campaigns for reelection.
Trump, meanwhile, has seized on Biden's slip-ups, saying his mental abilities is a major issue in his ability to govern.
"We have a guy in the White House who can't put two sentences together and who could not find his way off this stage," the former president said in New Hampshire in November.
What We Know:
As part of the last day of CPAC on Saturday in National Harbor, Maryland, Trump gave a speech in which he spoke on many issues surrounding the 2024 election.
Amid his speech, Trump took aim at Biden by speaking about his gaffes and his stumbling on the stairs, quipping at one point, "This is what we have negotiating nuclear weapons."
The former president then gave an impression of Biden giving a speech, as he pointed towards one speech in particular, the State of the Union speech, adding that it was "one of the worst speeches."
Trump's comments come as he appears to be on a path toward the GOP nomination.
Newsweek has reached out to Trump's campaign and Biden campaign via email for comment.
Views:
Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley took aim at Trump and Biden regarding their age and mental capabilities when her team handed out a mental competency test to people who attended her rally in South Carolina earlier this month.
The former United Nations ambassador is trailing Trump in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. However, she has repeatedly questioned Trump's mental competency on the campaign trail and argued that Trump and Biden are too old to serve second terms as president. In addition, after her loss in the New Hampshire primary, Haley, 52, challenged Trump to face her directly, saying: "He thinks he'd do better [on a mental test] than me. Maybe he would, maybe he wouldn't. But if he thinks that, then he should have no problem standing on a debate stage with me."
Meanwhile, Biden has recently dismissed concerns about his age and joked about his memory following the publication of special counsel Robert Hur's report on February 8 that described the president as an "elderly man with a poor memory."
Hur released his report following an investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents that were found at his home in Delaware and at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C.
Mark Shanahan, an associate professor in politics at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom and co-editor of The Trump Presidency: From Campaign Trail to World Stage previously told Newsweek, "Whichever way you look at it, February 8 was a bad day for President Biden and a very good day for former President Trump."
"The Hur report at the end of last week prompted considerable knee-jerk reaction from media that has, largely, been supportive of the president to date. However much Special Counsel Robert Hur's comments around Biden's perceived cognitive decline were a politically motivated hit-job, they definitely hit home," Shanahan said.
In a previous poll conducted last year, a majority of voters across all generations believe that aging politicians should be tested for mental fitness, with support for the measure being slightly stronger among Americans aged between 57 and 75—the so-called baby boomers.
The poll was conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies on behalf of Newsweek among a sample population of 1,500 eligible voters in the country. It found that 75 percent of all Americans agree that politicians of a certain age should be required to take competency tests to prove their mental fitness for office, with support rising with age.
What's Next?
The CPAC comes amid the South Carolina Republican primary as polls opened at 7 a.m. ET and will close at 7 p.m. ET.
Trump is looking to continue his winning is 2024 primary streak, while Haley, a former South Carolina governor, is hoping her home state can help fuel a comeback.
Update 2/24/24, 3:43 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 2/24/24, 4:07 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
fairness meter
About the writer
Natalie Venegas is a Weekend Reporter at Newsweek based in New York. Her focus is reporting on education, social justice ... Read more