Age trap for Trump? Harris' unexpected strategy baffles - but there's a big but

Kamala Harris takes advantage of Donald Trump's arguments and uses her Republican opponent's age as an opportunity to campaign. The strategy works - but has its limits.

Too old, too senile, too unpredictable: for months, former US President Donald Trump, who is now back on the big political stage as the Republican candidate, used the age of his opponent Joe Biden (81) as an argument. Biden is now out of the race - the much younger Kamala Harris (59) has taken over

Now the wind has changed. Harris is now using the 78-year-old Trump's age as a means of attack. It is not only Trump's age that plays a role, but also the message Harris is trying to convey: The 2024 election is a choice between a future that brings progress and a past that the country does not want to relive.

Strategy has its limits

As the US magazine Politico reports, the Harris campaign sees Trump as a symbol of a backward-looking policy. Anita Dunn, an advisor to President Joe Biden, explains: "Trump stands for taking the country back, not forward - back to a time people don't want to go back to." Harris, on the other hand, emphasizes a vision of the future that focuses on women's rights, healthcare and economic justice.

Despite the attacks on Trump's age, this strategy has its limits. While a Marquette Law School poll found that 79 percent of respondents view Biden's age as problematic, the figure for Trump is only 57 percent.

In fact, Trump is perceived by many as more vital and energetic than Biden. Douglas Heye, a Republican strategist, told Politico: "You can say Trump is erratic and unfocused, but he's seen as a source of energy."

Late Night USA"Trump is not a racist. He just meets a lot of people in death helis"

Still, there are signs that Trump, too, is going through age-related changes. Conservative commentator Megyn Kelly said on her podcast: "You notice in his speeches that he often loses the thread and people lose interest - that's new for Trump."

While Harris subtly addresses Trump's age in her speeches, she mainly focuses on the contrasting visions for the future of the US. At a campaign event in Las Vegas, she emphasized: "This election isn't just about us versus Trump, it's about two different visions for our country: our vision, which looks to the future, and his, which looks to the past."

Younger voters support Harris

Experts like Paul Maslin, a prominent Democratic pollster, see age as "the icing on the cake" of Harris' argument. "You want to offer a vision of the future anyway, and now you can add to that by asking about Trump's mental fitness and energy," Maslin explained in a CNN podcast.

Harris' arguments are particularly well received by younger Americans. According to the Pew Research Center, support among young voters is particularly high: 57% of under-30s support her, while only 29% prefer Trump.

Celinda Lake, who worked as a pollster for Biden's 2020 campaign, is surprised at how difficult the Republicans are finding it to effectively counter Harris' campaign. She states: "They don't know how to tackle her"