This 87-Year-Old Politician's Controversial Stance On Candidate Age Limits Is Going Viral

by · BuzzFeed

Posted 3 minutes ago

You may remember Congressperson Maxine Waters for her viral one-liner on the House floor back in 2017.

WUSA9 / Via youtube.com

Well, the 87-year-old democrat who has served in Congress for over 35 years was recently asked about age limits for candidates running for office, and her response has now been seen by over 3.5 million.

Bloomberg / Getty Images

You can watch the video here. 

A reporter asked Waters, "Should there be an age limit to be president?" To which Waters responded, "Let me just say this: people should be, um, evaluated, and they should be thought of in terms of what they do. If you have effective leaders, if you have fighters, if you have those who have demonstrated, if you have those who have documented what they care about, that's the only thing that counts."

Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Following up, the reporter asked, "So, if you have a 100-year-old fighter, they should still be in office, hypothetically?" Waters replied, "The people should evaluate who should be in office with their vote, and that's it."

Alex WROBLEWSKI / AFP via Getty Images

In the video's replies, many people disagreed with and expressed frustration over Waters' comments. Here's what they had to say:

"I'm tired of Congress being the wealthiest nursing home in the country," one person said.

@JackInacker / Via x.com

"God damn, why are these people so against retiring?" another asked.

@TheRealJChubby / Via x.com

"If there's a such thing as too young there should definitely be such a thing as too old for government positions."

X / Via x.com

"This is pure insanity."

@capitoldebrief / Via x.com

Slightly disagreeing, this person advocated for age limits over term limits.

X / Via x.com

"What I find the most frustrating is that all these old folks have been in office long enough to have mentored at least a dozen people who they SHOULD feel is able to carry on their legacy into the new era but they just cling to power instead."

X / Via x.com

"I love Maxine and thank her for everything she has done for America, and specifically for black people," another person said. "It’s time though. It’s time for most of them. It’s time. We can’t keep doing this."

@jackfreemanjr / Via x.com

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

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