Trump – who is running for president at 78 – says ‘only stupid people’ put old people in top federal roles
Donald Trump has said “only stupid people put old” people in positions on the Supreme Court – seemingly forgetting that he’s a 78-year-old man running for the top position in the executive branch.
Trump made the remarks during an interview with Bloomberg while in Chicago on Tuesday.
“It’s amazing, because I got three in four years,” Trump said of his appointments to the Supreme Court. “Most people get none. Because, you know, you put them in, they’re young. You tend to put them in young.”
“Only stupid people put old,” he continued. “You know, you don’t put old in, because they’re there for two years or three years, right?”
Trump is running for another four-year term in the White House and is currently the oldest nominee for president in US history. If elected in November, Trump would be 82 years old when he completes his term in 2029.
His age has frequently been a target for the Democrats who have questioned his mental fitness and his ability to serve.
In modern appointments to the Supreme Court, presidents typically look for younger candidates to put on the US’s top court. Justices are lifetime appointments and picking a younger nominee allows presidents to add someone who matches their ideology to the court for decades.
During his term, Trump appointed three members to the court. Neil Gorsuch was 49 years old when he started, Brett Kavanaugh was 53 years old and Amy Coney Barrett was 48.
Those three members now help make up the conservative majority of the court, which has made major changes to federal precedent in recent years including the overturning of Roe v Wade – the landmark ruling that had guaranteed the right to abortion care.
When Trump was questioned about his comments on someone being “old,” it was pointed out to him that he is running for the White House at 78.
But Trump brushed off the comment and ignored the question about his own age.
“So, I got three,” Trump instead responded. “A lot of presidents get none, I got three. And, uh, I think they’ve been three great choices too, by the way.”
Questions about Trump’s mental fitness and age have ramped up on the campaign trail as he has frequently gone on long rants at rallies, ignored or missed questions and, at a Monday town hall, spent the majority of time dancing to music instead of answering questions.
Several experts previously told The Independent they had concerns similar to the ones they had about President Joe Biden, before the Democrat dropped out paving the way for Kamala Harris.
Dr Ben Michaelis, a clinical psychologist who has previously carried out cognitive assessments for the New York Supreme Court, told The Independent that Trump is “really not in a strong cognitive place.”
Michaelis stressed that he had not personally examined Trump so he could offer no official diagnosis, but watched the former president debate against Harris.
“There’s a term when you’re talking about people with dementia called sundowning, it’s a lot harder for them as the day goes on,” he said,
“It’s very difficult for them to maintain focus on a topic. The idea of being able to maintain that level of focus for that amount of time, that late in the day…you wouldn’t think twice about it if that was your grandfather. It’s just he happens to be running for president.”