Scolding Newsmax’s Rob Finnerty on Tuesday for calling Donald Trump an “old man,” Trump sycophant Kari Lake told the MAGA cable channel anchor that he was being “derogatory” towards the 77-year-old ex-president.
A failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate now running for Senate, Lake appeared on Newsmax to ostensibly talk about Trump’s likely victory in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary. Finnerty, however, kicked off the interview by noting that Trump had spoken highly of Lake on the campaign trail, raising speculation that she’s on the shortlist to be Trump’s running mate.
After Lake reiterated that she is currently focusing on her Senate race, Finnerty noted that she is in New Hampshire stumping for the ex-president. At the same time, the Newsmax morning host asserted that Trump’s choice for vice president will be significant due to the GOP frontrunner’s age and the fact that he can’t run again.
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“He’s the de facto nominee at this time tomorrow if he’s the winner today in New Hampshire,” Finnerty declared. “But this election is going to be huge for two reasons. One, Donald Trump’s an old man, just like Joe Biden.”
The election-denying Republican immediately grimaced over Finnerty’s description of the former president, prompting the Newsmax anchor to explain further why Trump’s advanced age could be a potential issue.
“He’s 77 years old. He's an old man, just like Joe Biden, who is 81 years old,” Finnerty continued. “If Trump is elected, he can only serve four years. So this pick is huge. If it’s not you, who would you like to see Trump run with?”
Clearing her throat, Lake first said she thought “we were going to talk about New Hampshire” before lecturing Finnerty for his “derogatory way of referring to President Trump.” A sputtering Finnerty replied that he wasn’t “disagreeing” with Lake, claiming he was merely referencing Trump’s “chronological” age before noting he’d say the same thing about his own 81-year-old father.
“Donald Trump is an older man and he’s someone who can only serve four years,” he reiterated, causing Lake to visibly react again.
“Well, first of all, Donald Trump is not an old man,” she groused. “He is a very sharp man. His cognitive abilities are unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I talk to him all the time. He is incredible.”
Lake went on to compare Trump to one of America’s Founding Fathers, pointing out that Benjamin Franklin was 81 years old when he helped draft the U.S. Constitution.
“Age is just a number. It’s what’s going on up here,” she added, pointing to her head. “And there’s a lot going on up here with President Trump. Unfortunately, with Joe Biden, there’s not much going on up here.”
After spending years attacking Biden as “senile” and cognitively unfit for office, conservative media is now having to contend with questions about Trump’s age and mental acuity due to the ex-president’s repeated gaffes and slurred speech on the campaign trail.
Nikki Haley, Trump’s last remaining opponent in the GOP presidential primary, recently questioned whether the former president was “mentally fit” after he confused her with ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at a rally last week.
