Oh my. The ice under Don Lemon’s skates at CNN already looked pretty thin, thanks to the crashing ratings of his new morning show. The ice may have thinned out even more recently after reports of off-air clashes with co-host Kaitlan Collins emerged.

Just imagine what that ice looks like after Lemon’s remarks about women and their “prime” make the rounds at CNN and its new ownership. Pushing back on Haley’s suggestion that political leaders should take cognitive tests after reaching 75, Lemon declared that Haley was already past her prime too, because women age out in their forties at best.

No, I am not kidding you, and neither is Mediaite:

Lemon: This whole talk about age makes me uncomfortable. I think it’s the wrong road to go down. She says people, you know, politicians are suddenly not in their prime. Nikki Haley isn’t in her prime. Sorry, When a woman is in their prime in 20s and 30s and maybe 40s…

Poppy Harlow: What are you talking — Wait…

Lemon: That’s not according to me.

Harlow: Prime for what?

Lemon: It depends. It’s just like, prime. If you look it up. If you Google when is a woman in her prime, it’ll say 20s, 30s, 40s.

Harlow: Forties! Oh my god, I have another decade.

Lemon: I’m not saying I agree with that. So I think she has to be careful about saying that, you know, politicians are in their prime.

Harlow: Are you talking about prime for, like, childbearing? Or are you talking about prime for being president?

Lemon: Don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just saying what the facts are. Google it. Everybody at home, when is a woman in her prime? It says 20s, 30s and 40s. I’m just saying Nikki Haley should careful about saying that politics are not in their prime, and they need to be in their prime when they serve. She would not be in her prime according to Google or whatever it is.

Uhhh … Mr. Lemon? Hillary Clinton is on line 1 for you.

Put aside the sheer idiocy of this argument for just a moment. What kind of person would actually vocalize that on television with two female co-hosts sitting next to him? Clearly Lemon wanted to get in a dig at Haley by using an argument that he thought would pass muster against a Republican woman, but not even his own colleagues gave him a pass on it.

If anyone needs a “mental competency test,” though, it’s Lemon. As Harlow starts to object, Lemon’s referring to a sexual prime, not a cognitive prime. No one (with the possible exception of Lemon) cares about anyone’s sexual prime in terms of political stamina. By that measure, we wouldn’t elect men past their fifties, and arguably past their mid-twenties, depending on how one measures such things.

And is there any dumber attempt to defend a position on air than by saying, “Google it”?

We can expect a number of stupidly sexist attacks on Nikki Haley over the next several months. Mainstream media outlets will use their Sarah Palin playbook to make Haley seem either kooky, backward, or both. Unfortunately for Haley, they won’t be all this idiotic and transparently sexist, but Lemon’s faceplant here won’t discourage other MSM outlets from conducting similar attacks with more nuance.

For the record, Don Lemon will turn 57 in a couple of weeks. It’s very clear that he’s well past his “prime” for a number of reasons, and age isn’t among them. Why is Lemon still on the air? That’s a question CNN should be forced to answer, and may be forced to do so by its female audience. Especially those over 40.

Update: Nikki Haley goes for CNN’s jugular:

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. pic.twitter.com/PzpniQFLff

— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 16, 2023

CNN management is very quiet thus far about Lemon and his remarks. Will they even bother to address the ignorance and misogyny? I’d say stay tuned, but hardly anyone bothers to tune in to Lemon already. This demonstrates why.

Update: Did Lemon do another Google search, or what?

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.

— Don Lemon (@donlemon) February 16, 2023

“Inartful” is a hilarious understatement. “Irrelevant” applies here, but it’s hardly the real issue either. Lemon’s actual point and argument was sexist. misogynistic, and clearly a cheap shot based on Lemon’s feelings about Haley’s politics. It’s not quite a non-apology apology, but it’s not far from it. One has to wonder whether “colleagues” translates to “my bosses at CNN who are already at the end of their rope with me,” for that matter.