Should politicians be made to take mental competency tests?

In an interview with CBS News that aired on Wednesday, Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke out against comments made by Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley in which she expressed the view that political candidates should be made to take mental competency tests.

Speaking to political correspondent Caitlin Huey-Burns, Pence vocalized his opinion that it should be left up to U.S. citizens to determine who is with it enough to hold office.

“Look, I think the American people can sort that out, I really do,” Pence said in a quote obtained from The Hill. “I mean, the long and unbroken history of this country proves again and again, the wisdom and common sense and judgment of the American people.”

The issue of competency tests was broached by Haley during a rally last month in her home state of South Carolina.  

“In the America I see, the permanent politician will finally retire,” Haley said during that rally. “We’ll have term limits for Congress and mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is 81-years-old presently, agrees with Pence that these tests would be out of line, calling them “absurd.”

During a segment of “Face the Nation” taped shortly after Haley first made her comment, Sanders said “We are fighting racism, we’re fighting sexism, we’re fighting homophobia — I think we should also be fighting ageism.”

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“There are a lot of 40-year-olds out there who ain’t particularly competent,” Sanders said. “Older people, you know, you look at the individual. I don’t think you make a blanket statement.”

Pence, when asked in Wednesday’s interview whether or not he though Biden is “mentally and physically well to serve as president,” replied that his issue with the president is not competency in relation to age but rather his “administration’s failed policies.”