Rep. Maxine Waters refused to say whether a 100-year-old should be allowed to serve in Congress during a Capitol Hill exchange with a TMZ producer who pressed the California Democrat on whether elected officials need age limits.
The 87-year-old congresswoman argued Thursday that voters should judge politicians by “performance and effectiveness” rather than age as she walked into the US Capitol.
“People should evaluate who should be in office with their vote, and that’s it,” Waters said.
The exchange began when TMZ producer Jacob Wasserman approached Waters after a Working Families press conference and asked what she would say to younger Americans who believe some leaders are too old to remain in power.
Rep. Maxine Waters refused to say whether a 100-year-old should be allowed to serve in Congress. AFP via Getty Images Waters initially said voters should examine elected officials’ records.
“What do they do? What can you document? What can you give them credit for? What can you criticize them for?” Waters said.
“If you do what it takes to evaluate, then you can decide.”
When Wasserman said voters should judge politicians by what they do rather than their age, Waters replied: “Performance and effectiveness.”
The conversation then turned to President Trump after Wasserman asked whether an 80-year-old president was “a little too old,” noting that “a lot of people had issues with Biden’s age.”
Waters declined to discuss Trump’s age and instead attacked his record.
“The President of the United States is destroying our democracy,” Waters said. “He’s made unkept promises. He is enriching himself and his family with cryptocurrency.”
She accused Trump of being “absolutely committed to empowering himself” and said voters would decide his fate.
“I think some people are having buyer’s remorse, and we see it in the polls,” Waters said. “In the final analysis, it is the people who will finally determine that this president is dangerous and divisive.”
The 87-year-old congresswoman argued Thursday that voters should judge politicians by “performance and effectiveness.” MediaNews Group via Getty Images Wasserman then asked directly whether there should be an age limit to be president.
“People should be evaluated and thought of in terms of what they do,” Waters said.
When he followed up by asking whether a “hundred-year-old fighter” should still be in office, Waters again said voters should decide.
“The people should evaluate who should be in office with their vote, and that’s it,” she said.
