Don Lemon Ripped for Saying Nikki Haley Not in ‘Her Prime’ at 51

CNN’s Don Lemon is trending for saying women, like presidential candidate Nikki Haley, are well beyond their “prime” years — a comment that irked at least one of his cohosts, and many more people online.

The CNN crew was reacting to Haley’s Wednesday speech where she called for “mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over the age of 75.” It’s a clear shot at President Biden, and even her GOP nomination rival Donald Trump … and Lemon saw an opening to take a shot at Haley herself.

Poppy Harlow asked “elder statesman” Don for his opinion, and he suggested Haley was barking up the wrong tree because “Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime. Sorry. A woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s, and maybe 40s.”

Poppy immediately called him out, but Don played the “don’t shoot the messenger” card … claiming Google told him those are the facts. He seemed to backpedal, saying he doesn’t necessarily agree with that.

Important to note, 51-year-old Haley didn’t use the word “prime” when calling for the competency testing — and whether or not you agree with her, there’s a clear difference, generally speaking, between people in their 50s and 80s … which was really her point.

Don’s remark shot him to the top of Twitter’s trending news, and also drew a quick response from Haley, who said, “Liberals can’t stand the idea of having competency tests for older politicians to make sure they can do the job. BTW it’s always the liberals who are the most sexist.”

We’re not saying it’s a liberal vs. conservative thing, but it’s definitely a “foot in mouth” thing … at least where Don and Poppy — who’s 40, BTW — are concerned.