Donald Trump ‘likes the concept’ of picking female running mate for US presidential race
Donald Trump has said he is against an age limit for running for US president but backed a competency test.
The frontrunner for the Republican nomination argued some of the greatest world leaders had been in their 80s.
But while Mr Trump did not think Joe Biden was too old, he said the current White House incumbent was incompetent, which was “a bigger problem”.
The 77-year-old, who is three years younger than Mr Biden, made his comments in an interview with NBC’s Meet The Press, which is due to air on Sunday.
Mr Trump also said he liked “the concept” of having a woman as a running mate as he hailed Republican South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, who recently endorsed him at a rally, as “fantastic”.
South Dakota governor Kristi Noem is ‘fantastic’, says Mr Trump. Pic : AP
Although a favourite in the party race to go up against Mr Biden, he is facing multiple legal cases over claims including election interference, paying “hush” money to a former porn actress and stealing classified documents.
It saw him become the first former leader of the US in history to have his mugshot taken.
Believing there should be a competency test rather than an age cap for the top job, Mr Trump said: “You know, I took a test two years ago, three years ago.
“And as the doctors said – and it was in front of doctors and a whole big deal at Walter Reed (hospital), which is an incredible place.
“And I aced it. I get everything right. I’m all for testing. I frankly think testing would be a good thing.”
It was not an IQ test, but a 10-minute screening used to evaluate mild cognitive impairment or early dementia.
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He added: “A lot of people say it’s not constitutional to do it. But I would be for testing, to test to make sure everyone’s just fine.
“Some of the greatest world leaders have been in their 80s. I’m not anywhere very near 80, by the way.
“I don’t think Biden’s too old.
“But I think he’s incompetent, and that’s a bigger problem.”
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Mr Trump also confirmed he left a note for Mr Biden when he left the White House in January 2021- a tradition for outgoing presidents.
He said: “I left him a note. I think it was very – it was a nice note. I took a lot of time in thinking about it.
“I’d love him to do a great job, even if it was very bad politically.”
Asked in the wide-ranging interview if he was “leaning toward a woman” to share the Republican ticket, Mr Trump said: “I like the concept, but we’re going to pick the best person.”
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Governor Noem recently backed Mr Trump at a rally in the state, fuelling speculation she could be a likely contender for his vice presidential candidate.
He said: “She’s been a great governor.
“She gave me a very full-throated endorsement, a beautiful endorsement actually. And, you know, it’s been a very good state for me.
“And certainly she’d be one of the people I’d consider, or for something else maybe. But we have a lot of people. We have a lot of great people in the Republican Party.”
Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”
He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.
“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.
“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”
Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.
She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.
O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.
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This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.
But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.
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Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.
“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
A farmer who fell from a greenhouse roof during an anti-immigrant raid at a licensed cannabis facility in California this week has died of his injuries.
Jaime Alanis, 57, is the first person to die as a result of Donald Trump’s Immigration Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) raids.
His niece, Yesenia Duran, posted on the fundraising site GoFundMe to say her uncle was his family’s only provider and he had been sending his earnings back to his wife and daughter in Mexico.
The United Food Workers said Mr Alanis had worked on the farm for 10 years.
“These violent and cruel federal actions terrorise American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives and separate families,” the union said in a recent statement on X.
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it executed criminal search warrants at Glass House Farms facilities on Thursday.
Mr Alanis called family to say he was hiding and possibly fleeing agents before he fell around 30ft (9m) from the roof and broke his neck, according to information from family, hospital and government sources.
Agents arrested 200 people suspected of being in the country illegally and identified at least 10 immigrant children on the sites, the DHS said in a statement.
Mr Alanis was not among them, the agency said.
“This man was not in and has not been in CBP (Customs and Border Protection) or ICE custody,” DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin said.
“Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a greenhouse and fell 30ft. CBP immediately called a medivac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible.”
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Four US citizens were arrested during the incident for allegedly “assaulting or resisting officers”, the DHS said, and authorities were offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a person suspected of firing a gun at federal agents.
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In a statement, Glass House, a licensed Cannabis grower, said immigration agents had valid warrants. It said workers were detained and it is helping provide them with legal representation.
“Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors,” it added.
Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”
He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.
“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.
“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”
Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.
She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.
O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.
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Will Trump address parliament on UK state visit?
This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.
But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.
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Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.
“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
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