What Happened
“What do they do? What can you document? What can you give them credit for? What can you criticize them for? If you do what it takes to evaluate, then you can decide,” Waters said. When the producer suggested voters should focus on what politicians actually accomplish rather than their age, Waters agreed.
“Performance and effectiveness,” she said.
The conversation then shifted toward President Donald Trump after the producer asked whether an 80-year-old commander in chief might be too old, referencing prior public concerns over former President Joe Biden’s age. Waters declined to directly engage on Trump’s age and instead launched into criticism of the president’s leadership.
“The president of the United States is destroying our democracy,” Waters said. “He’s made unkept promises. He is enriching himself and his family with cryptocurrency. He is absolutely committed to empowering himself,” she said.
When pressed again on whether there should be an age limit for the presidency, Waters again rejected the premise. “People should be evaluated and thought of in terms of what they do,” she said. When asked whether even a hypothetical 100-year-old “fighter” should be allowed to serve, Waters responded: “The people should evaluate who should be in office with their vote, and that’s it.”
The Reaction
Waters is fighting for her political life ahead of her June Democratic primary against 53-year-old Myla Rahman, a nonprofit executive who has worked in politics. Rahman has criticized the congresswoman’s long tenure in office.
“She’s a force. Since I was 6 years old, she’s been in office, but as I do my work in the community, walk through the districts, talk to people, people want new leadership,” Rahman said. “The average age in the district is 36 years old. That’s a big difference. When you talk about relatability, when you talk about going to the store, the price of affordability – I’m a renter. Being able to afford housing. Raising my children in the district and school there, talking to their friends. And elections are about the future. They’re not really about the past.”
Waters has argued that her experience and energy justify her re-election. “The Democratic Party is working as it normally does,” Waters said. “They will choose their candidates based on the relationships that they have, the work that they have done, the interests that they have shown – not about age.”
What This Means
Waters appeared at an anti-ICE protest in downtown Los Angeles in February, chanting “ICE out of L.A.” hours before the demonstration descended into violence and police made multiple arrests. “What I see here at the detention center are people exercising their constitutional rights,” Waters said while standing in front of officers wearing riot gear. “And, of course, they’re now trying to tear gas everybody. It’s in the air, but people are not moving.”
Los Angeles police arrested multiple violent agitators after issuing dispersal orders as protests erupted near a federal detention center. Thousands of protesters gathered outside City Hall Friday afternoon before many marched to the detention facility, where a group of agitators pushed a large construction dumpster and blocked the entrance to the building’s loading dock, according to police. The LAPD deployed pepper balls and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
The debate over age qualifications for public office reflects broader questions about generational leadership within the Democratic Party. Waters has positioned her decades of legislative experience against arguments that fresh perspectives are needed to address constituent concerns about housing affordability, inflation, and economic opportunity—issues that resonate particularly with younger voters in her district.
