Trump says he feels mentally sharp after Haley assaults his age, gaffes By Reuters

By Tim Reid

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Donald Trump on Saturday mentioned he feels “sharper now than I did 20 years in the past,” reacting to latest assaults on his age and verbal gaffes by Republican presidential rival Nikki Haley.

Trump additionally mentioned presidential candidates ought to must take a cognitive take a look at, apparently a response to a problem from Haley, who has advocated the identical coverage, citing the age of Trump, 77, and Democratic President Joe Biden, 81.

Trump was talking at a rally in Nevada, forward of the following vote within the Republican presidential nominating race, a caucus within the state on Feb. 8. In latest days Haley has accused former Republican President Trump of being confused and has questioned his means to be president at his age.

Trump has lately made some verbal slip-ups. Throughout a speech on Jan. 19 he confused Haley with former Democratic Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Occasionally he has appeared to slur his phrases and he additionally prompt former Democratic President Barack Obama was nonetheless in workplace.

Trump is nearly assured of all of Nevada’s 26 delegates as a result of Haley isn’t competing within the caucus. He attacked each Haley and Biden, attempting to knock Haley out of the Republican nominating struggle whereas scoring early factors in a possible normal election rematch with Biden in November.

Trump’s back-to-back wins within the Iowa and New Hampshire Republican contests have all however assured him his get together’s White Home nomination. However he’s infuriated that Haley, his final remaining Republican rival, has refused to drop out.

Trump and his allies have begun a marketing campaign to drive Haley out of the race earlier than the following main vote within the major race, in her dwelling state of South Carolina on Feb. 24. Trump has threatened to banish from his political orbit any donors who proceed to fund Haley.

Haley has pledged to maintain campaigning in South Carolina and past.

Shortly after Trump’s speech, Haley appeared at a rally in South Carolina. She once more mentioned Trump had lately appeared “confused”, and mentioned if he desires to take a cognitive take a look at, “he should not have any drawback getting on a debate stage with me, as a result of that is the last word psychological competency take a look at for anybody working for president.”

Trump has refused to take part in any of the Republican nominating debates and is refusing to debate Haley.

In his Nevada speech, Trump repeated a demeaning nickname for Haley, calling her “birdbrain”. He additionally accused Haley – a conservative Republican – of being “virtually a radical left Democrat”.

Trump declared: “It is time to end this,” referring to his nomination struggle. He leads Haley in opinion polls in South Carolina and he or she has no clear path to the nomination.

After Trump’s win within the New Hampshire major on Jan. 23, the Biden marketing campaign issued an announcement, saying: “It’s now clear that Donald Trump would be the Republican nominee.”

Turning his consideration to Biden, Trump targeted a lot of his speech on the southern border.

Report numbers of migrants have been caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border since Biden took workplace in 2021, and opinion polls present immigration and the border as a high concern on this yr’s normal election.

Trump referred to as the unlawful crossing a “disaster”, an “invasion” and the southern border as an “open wound”.

In the meantime, Biden and his marketing campaign aides have intensified assaults on Trump in latest days, calling him a risk to U.S. democracy and tying him to the U.S. Supreme Courtroom’s 2022 choice to finish federal abortion rights, a difficulty that has been blamed with hurting Republicans through the 2022 midterm elections.