Former Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) appeared to forget the name of an MSNBC guest during a conversation about whether Democrats in office are too old.
Boxer, who is 81 and was 76 when she retired in 2017, seemed to make the point of younger Democrats for them while speaking with MSNBC’s Joy Reid and fellow guest Cristina Ramirez, the president of NextGen America.
Reid opened the conversation by reporting the results of a New York Times poll which shows young Democrats overwhelmingly want someone other than President Joe Biden to run in 2024.
The host twice stated the Democratic Party has become a “gerontocracy” that is out of touch with young people and the issues that concern them.
Boxer was not of the opinion the party is too old, but did agree there is a need for younger voices:
You can be dangerous at 80, and you can be dangerous at 40. The point is–but I do think there is an important point to this poll. We Democrats do have a very diverse coalition. It truly is diverse, everywhere you look at it. In terms of leadership, it is true that they are getting older.I think it’s easy to fix that, I think we need to have younger people standing behind the leaders, getting behind the podium, and making the presentations.
Boxer further argued the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot is “impressive” and is made
Ramirez, whose youth voting organization is the largest in the country, was asked for a rebuttal by Reid.
“This was not a news flash,” she said of the poll. She added young Democrats are “just starting to flex their power,” and Democrats would be advised not to “discount the power of a pissed off generation.”
Reid noted the Senate cannot seem to pass legislation that excites young voters, to which Boxer agreed.
“Let me say this,” Boxer said. “The way that the senate works, as you know, it is a supermajority to get anything done. It has nothing to do with age, they could all be in their 30s or 40s.”
Boxer concluded she agreed with Ramirez, although she appeared to forget her name.
“I think that the panelist we have on here is so, right it’s about the issues,” she said.
Watch above, via MSNBC.