On Thursday, CNN anchor Don Lemon backed himself into a corner during a segment about 51-year-old Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
Lemon, alongside his “CNN This Morning” co-hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, were discussing Haley’s calls for “mandatory mental competency tests” for politicians over the age of 75. During the launch of her presidential campaign on Wednesday, Haley made a dig at both Trump, who is 76 and President Biden who is 80.
“America is not past our prime – it’s just that our politicians are past theirs,” she told a South Carolina crowd.
Lemon commented that Haley was in no position to determine who is in their prime because of her age.
“This whole talk about age makes me uncomfortable,” he said. “I think it is the wrong road to go down. She says people, you know, politicians or something, are not in their prime. Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime, sorry… when a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s.”
Co-host Poppy Harlow challenged Lemon’s comment on air, asking “Prime for what?… Are you talking about prime for like childbearing? Or prime for being president?”
“Don’t shoot the messenger,” Lemon replied. “I’m just saying what the facts are. Google it, everybody at home… Nikki Haley should be careful about saying that politicians are not in their prime, and they need to be in their prime when they serve. Because she wouldn’t be in her prime, according to Google or whatever it is.”
The comments received backlash online, with Haley herself labeling liberals as “sexist” in response.
Lemon apologized on twitter, tweeting that his reference to a woman’s prime was “inartful and irrevelant.”
