Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) appeared to brush off concerns about former President Trump’s mental acuity and, instead, spotlighted President Biden, who has faced mounting scrutiny on his mental fitness and ability to carry out a second term.
CBS News’s “Face The Nation” anchor Margaret Brennan brought up Trump’s apparent mix-up over the weekend when he confused former President Obama and Biden and also suggested U.S. troops were serving in Ukraine.
Asked if he is comfortable about Trump’s mental fitness, Sullivan said, “Yes, yes. Compared to the current president? 110 percent. And as your polling shows, I think the American people have real concerns [about] where President Biden is with regard to his fitness for office, particularly his mental acuity.”
“And relative to President Biden or relative to former President Trump, I don’t even think it’s a close call when you see the two in action,” he continued.
It’s not the first time Trump has appeared to mix up Obama and Biden’s names, and in November, he claimed he had previously done so sarcastically to show “others” may have a “very big influence in running” the United States.
Both Trump and Biden have faced criticism for gaffes made in recent months. Trump is 77, 4 years younger than Biden. However, the current president has received an onslaught of criticism, especially following a special counsel report last month that called into question the president’s well-being.
At 81, Biden is the oldest sitting U.S. president, and if reelected, he would be 86 at the end of his second term. Last week, he pushed back on concerns about his age and said what really matters is “how old your ideas are.”
“You got to take a look at the other guy, he’s about as old as I am, but he can’t remember his wife’s name,” Biden said last week on NBC’s “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” in reference to Trump’s recent speech in which he appeared to mix up his wife, Melania Trump, with Mercedes Schlapp, the wife of American Conservative Union Chair Matt Schlapp and a former aide to Trump.