NRCC Ad Features Female GOP Lawmakers Slamming Don Lemon

A new ad released by the National Republican Congressional Committee features female GOP lawmakers slamming CNN anchor Don Lemon for his comments last month suggesting 2024 Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley "isn't in her prime."

Lemon made the comments about Haley, 51, on Feb. 16 during a segment on "CNN This Morning" with Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins about Haley's presidential campaign announcement and her call for mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old.

"She says people, politicians are not in their prime," the 56-year-old news anchor said. "Nikki Haley is not in her prime, sorry. A woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s, 30s, and maybe her 40s." 

His co-host Harlow asked him to clarify what he meant by "prime" and if he was referring to "prime for childbearing" or "prime for being president."

Lemon responded: "If you Google, 'when is a woman in her prime,' it'll say 20s, 30s, and 40s. ... I'm not saying I agree with that so I think she has to be careful about saying that."  

The ad, released Thursday, features GOP Reps. Kat Cammack, Claudia Tenney, Ashley Hinson, Erin Houchin, Debbie Lesko, and Stephanie Bice.

"I'm not about to let Don Lemon or anyone tell me I'm not in my prime," Bice, R-Okla., says at the start of the ad before Cammack, R-Fla., adds, "I'm in my prime because I don't need Google to tell me."

"There's nothing liberals fear more than strong conservative women," Hinson, R-Iowa, says in another part of the ad.

"I'm the first woman to represent my district in Congress," Houchin said, before Lesko added, "I'm a domestic violence survivor, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother."

"This is actually my second career," Bice, a businesswoman, said.

Lemon later apologized for his comments in a tweet saying, "The reference I made to a woman's 'prime' this morning was inartful and irrelevant, as colleagues and loved ones have pointed out, and I regret it. A woman's age doesn't define her either personally or professionally. I have countless women in my life who prove that every day."

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