CNN’s Jake Tapper welcomed four newly elected members of the 119th Congress on his show this week, including 32-year-old U.S. Representative Yassamin Ansari (D-Arizona) — who won Ruben Gallego‘s seat as Gallego was elected to replace Kyrsten Sinema in the Senate — and Trump-endorsed Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas who defeated Democrat Ernest Lineberger III in a landslide.
Tapper asked the 30-year-old Texan Republican, who is joining the House Judiciary, Oversight and Budget Committees, “What do you make of Washington’s gerontocracy?” Gill replied, “That’s exactly what it is.”
Note: Gerontocracy is “a form of rule in which an entity is ruled by leaders who are significantly older than most of the adult population.”
CNN’s Jake Tapper drops the “G” word, asking congressman about the gerontocracy – to which he replies “that’s exactly what it is”(!)
I cannot imagine this problem being openly discussed on cable news just a year ago. Something’s happening pic.twitter.com/h65JTjKXAL
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) January 6, 2025
Journalist Ken Klippenstein, formerly with The Intercept and The Nation, shared the CNN clip above and wrote: “CNN’s Jake Tapper drops the ‘G’ word.”
When Gill proceeded to complain about the “cognitive decline” of President Joe Biden, Tapper interjected that “it is a bipartisan affliction” and noted that it was just discovered that Texas Republican Congresswoman Kay Granger has been living in a memory care facility for the past six months.
Gill agreed with Tapper and replied, “I think that’s a huge, huge problem.”
Note: At 78, Donald Trump is the oldest person to be elected the President of the United States. Biden, the former owner of that distinction, was 77 when elected in November 2020.