Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said she had "no problem" taking a mental competency test and encouraged Republican front-runner Donald Trump and President Joe Biden to also test their cognitive abilities.
Haley made her remarks during a Sunday broadcast of CBS News' Face the Nation with host Margaret Brennan.
Brennan noted Haley has previously called Trump's cognitive abilities into question and acknowledged the candidate had also begun handing out "paper copies" of a cognitive assessment.
“When do you plan to take it?” Brennan asked. “Are you at all concerned that you might turn off some older voters?”
Haley said she had "no problem" taking a mental competency test.
“What I have said is, we need to have mental competency tests for anyone over the age of 75," Haley said. "I don’t care if we do it for 50 and up. But what happened with Joe Biden this week and what we’ve seen with Donald Trump is another example of why.”
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“We have to face the reality of the fact that, when you get to those ages, you get diminished,” she added. “These are people making decisions on our national security."
"These are people making decisions on the future of our economy," she continued. "We need to know they’re at the top of their game.”
Last week, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) released a report finding Biden "willfully retained and disclosed classified materials" after his time as vice president. However, the DOJ also said they will not seek criminal charges against the president, claiming Biden was not in a "mental state of willfulness."
"We conclude that the evidence does not establish Mr. Biden's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," reads the report, which states Biden viewed himself as a "historic figure" as his reasoning to retain classified documents.
The report also stated Biden's memory was "significantly limited" during his time interviewing with the ghostwriter for his memoir in 2017 along with a separate interview with the DOJ in 2023.
"Mr. Biden's lapses in attention and vigilance demonstrate why former officials should not keep classified materials unsecured at home and read them aloud to others, but jurors could well conclude that Mr. Biden's actions were unintentional," the report concludes.
Trump has handily defeated Haley in the three state elections this primary season thus far.
Trump and Haley are scheduled to face off in her home state of South Carolina on Feb. 24.
