The comment reflected an attempt to distance herself from the policies of her boss, which Republicans have blamed for high inflation and a crisis at the southern border. But it also served to use Trump’s age against him. At 78, Trump is almost two decades older than Harris.

For most of the 2024 cycle, concerns over mental acuity were squarely focused on Biden, culminating in a June debate at which he struggled to complete his thoughts. But with Harris now at the top of the ticket, she is attempting to shake the idea that she is the incumbent in the race by making Trump’s own age a liability.

“Even as her policies may not differ much from Biden’s positions, her generational outlook and sensibilities are worlds apart from both Biden and Trump and represent a type of fundamental change in perspectives that will be hard for voters to miss,” said Costas Panagopoulos, a political science professor at Northeastern University.

Harris framing herself as a change candidate is a perceived advantage during an election cycle in which voters repeatedly told pollsters they did not want a rematch between Trump and Biden before the president suspended his campaign in July.

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley attempted to exploit that dynamic during her own Republican primary bid, calling for mental fitness tests for anyone over the age of 75. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) similarly campaigned on Biden’s age in the Democratic primary.

Republicans are determined to tie Harris to Biden and his record. They have emphasized the role she played in addressing the root causes of illegal immigration. But Harris is attempting to separate herself rhetorically from Biden by running a campaign whose slogan has become “not going back.”

She will embark on a “New Way Forward” tour through the battleground states this week, appearing in North Carolina on Thursday and Pennsylvania on Friday.

“It is tough being the oldest guy on the stage,” said Ed Lee, the director of Emory University’s Alben W. Barkley Forum for Debate, Deliberation, and Dialogue. “Unfortunately for Republicans, Trump loses if he acts his age.”

Trump has attempted to adapt to Harris’s candidacy, in part, by shifting further to the middle on policies including abortion access. But Republican pollster Ed Goeas doubted the pivot was enough if it did not address his image.

Strategists consider Trump’s age something Harris can exploit, but she is also tapping into the same sort of exhaustion Biden attempted to leverage during his 2020 campaign. He cited Trump’s rhetoric as president and promised a return to “normalcy.”

“He had to show some differences from before, but he needed to show it personality-wise, not issue-wise,” Goeas said of Trump. “I question whether it’s going to work without having a way to appeal to those voters who say, ‘I like his policies, but I don’t like his personality.’”

Meanwhile, Republicans like Vance Patrick, the chairman of the Oakland Republican Party in Michigan, argued the election is “not about age” but “competence.”

“Kamala Harris has proven to be just as incompetent and ineffective as Joe Biden,” Patrick told the Washington Examiner. “Kamala hides from the press and hasn’t sat down for a one-on-one interview because her advisers know she’s incapable of defending her failed record.”

The Trump campaign and Republican National Committee used the same language, with RNC spokeswoman Anna Kelly adding that not only does Harris “own the last 3 1/2 years of failure, but she adopted Biden’s weak, failed policies as her own.”

Republicans believe one of Trump’s best moments during the debate was his closing statement, in which he asked Harris why she had not already done “all these wonderful things” that she is promising to do during Biden’s term in office.

To Republican strategist Cesar Conda, this was Trump arguing Harris is the “status quo” candidate when an average of 60% of voters consider the country to be heading in the wrong direction, according to RealClearPolitics. Only 30% consider it to be on the right track.

But Trump disappointed Republicans who believe he did not adequately tie Harris to Biden or the progressive views she held during her 2020 run for president.

At the same time, Tom Pauken, the former chairman of the Texas Republican Party, expressed concern that Trump was focusing on Biden in ways that were counterproductive. The former president continues to dwell on his exit from the 2024 race, including at the debate.

“Biden’s not the candidate,” Pauken, a onetime aide to President Ronald Reagan, told the Washington Examiner. “Trump has got to get his mind set on Kamala Harris and away from his grudge match with Joe Biden.”

Moving forward, Republican strategist Alex Conant said Trump risks diluting his populist, anti-establishment message if he does not contrast his agenda with Harris’s vice presidency.

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He said the thrust of Trump’s message needs to be: “If you like the way things are going in this country, elect the vice president.”

“I do think that there’s a missed opportunity in terms of the core of his appeal, you know, his railing against D.C. elites and the establishment and draining the swamp,” he said. “That appeals to disaffected Democrats, to independents, to populists, and it’s authentic to Trump.”