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By Giulia Carbonaro
Senior Reporter
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Republican presidential nominee Nikki Haley said that Mitch McConnell should step aside, after the Senate minority leader suffered a health episode that left him frozen and unable to speak at the Capitol last week.
Talking with CBS' Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan on Sunday, the former South Carolina governor was asked about her confidence in the 81-year-old senator's ability to lead.
"I think Mitch McConnell did an amazing job when it comes to our judiciary," Haley said. "When we look at the judges, when we look at the Supreme Court he's been a great leader," she added.
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"But I do think that this is one—you know, we've gotta stop electing people because they look good in a picture and they hold a baby well. We've got to stop electing people because we like them and they've been there a long time, that's actually the problem," she added, making the case for term limits for politicians.
During a news conference on Wednesday at the Capitol, McConnell suddenly froze mid-speech in front of the microphone, in an apparent medical episode recorded on camera. For a few seconds, he remained in front of the microphone with his mouth shut, looking disoriented, until he was gently taken away by his aides and colleagues.
In March, the Republican senator suffered a fall at a Washington hotel and he was treated for concussion, according to his spokesperson, as reported by The New York Times. He then fell ill at a Washington airport, according to NBC News, and again during a trip to Helsinki, as reported by CNN. Neither of those episodes was confirmed by McConnell's team.
The incident at the Capitol last week has sparked a debate about McConnell's health and candidates to succeed the 81-year-old senator, who this year became the longest-serving Senate leader in the history of American politics.
"We need new ideas, new solutions. We've got to have a new generation," Haley said, talking about "both Republicans and Democrats." She then suggested that McConnell and other Washington lawmakers should step aside.
"What I'm saying about Mitch McConnell, Dianne Feinstein, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, all of them: know when to walk away. We have huge issues that need new solutions, we need new generational leaders," she said.
Democrat Feinstein, who's 90 years old and the oldest member of the Senate, is said to have short-term memory issues that don't allow her to recognize her colleagues, as reported by Vanity Fair.
Haley didn't respond to a question about whether 77-year-old Donald Trump—now her rival in the Republican presidential primary—would pass the "acuity test" she talked about.
"I don't know, I say everybody should take it," she said. "Of course I'm talking about Trump, I've said all throughout this campaign that it is time for us to have a new generation," Haley added.
Newsweek contacted McConnell's team for comment by phone on Monday, but didn't receive an immediate response.
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