Harris turns 60: Will US witness first Gen X president as age debate continues to take the spotlight

While addressing addressing a rally in Michigan, Vice President Kamala Harris became emotional. The reason behind that was the charged-up gathering who serenaded her with the birthday song. Born on October 20, 1964, Harris turned 60 this year, just weeks before the election where age remained a big question.

Harris was initially not the face of the Democrats in the intense presidential race against Republican firebrand and former President Donald Trump. It was her boss, the current US President Joe Biden, who was running for re-election. However, things changed in the middle of 2024.

Now in Michigan: Rally attendees surprised Vice President Kamala Harris by singing Happy Birthday to her when she came on stage in Oakland County.@NTDNews pic.twitter.com/AaNsZwQ2ZF

— Jason Blair (@JasonBlairNTD) October 19, 2024

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Amid the criticisms over Biden’s age and mental acuity, the 81-year-old commander-in-chief stepped out of the race in July, paving the way for Harris to take over. Soon after winning the Democratic nomination, Harris used her platform to reach out to the young voters. Meanwhile, her party rallied behind her and spun the age rhetoric against Trump. Here’s a look at how age became a crucial factor in the polls.

The age question: Biden’s not-so-surprising exit

From the moment Biden assumed office in 2020, many started questioning his age and mental acuity. It is important to note that Biden is currently the oldest sitting US president. Hence, sceptics questioned whether he would remain “fit” for the next four years. Biden’s frequent gaffes also didn’t help his cause. From referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Russian President Vladimir Putin to falling out of a bicycle, Biden’s goofs made many mock his mental astuteness.

After staying hush-hush about it for a while, Biden announced that he would be running for the White House. POTUS’s age was one of the major tools for Trump to use against Biden. The ex-president who himself is 78 years old took potshots at Biden’s age and mental capabilities.

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However, the nail in the coffin of Biden’s re-election bid was his poor performance at the first presidential debate of 2024, against Trump. During the debate hosted by CNN, the president fumbled frequently and looked disoriented. Trump also used the opportunity to dismiss his points by just saying, “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either.”

Former President Trump: "I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don't think he knows what he said either." pic.twitter.com/V106E98OSy

— CSPAN (@cspan) June 28, 2024

Soon after the debate, pressure started mounting on Biden even from the Democratic party. Top leaders like ex-president Barrack Obama and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi also asked Biden to step aside. Amid all the frenzy, Biden made one of the most important statements of his political career, which was he would no longer seek re-election. Emphasising that he did it to “unify” the democratic party, Biden closed the chapter of his decades-long political career.

pic.twitter.com/RMIRvlSOYw

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024

Will the US see the first Gen X President: Advent of Harris

With an 18-year age difference between her and Trump, Harris decided to portray herself as a new-generation leader. While Harris is just a few months short of being called a “Generation X” (1965-1980), she managed to garner attention from young voters because of her unique antiques.

I’m Kamala Harris, and I’m running for President of the United States. pic.twitter.com/6qAM32btjj

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 25, 2024

From going viral with the “coconut tree speech” to being called “Brat”, inspired by Charli XCX, Harris managed to woo even the “Generation Z”. Her dancing unselfconsciously, discussing how to cook a turkey in great detail or just her unique laugh, Harris gave the young voters some sort of relatability.

However, the critics used her personality to take potshots at her as well. With Trump constantly mocking her laughter and intelligence. The Harris campaign managed to tackle these attacks from Trump in the most Gen Z way possible – by calling the former reality TV star “weird”.

How the tables have turned - Trump and the age question

With Biden out of the picture, Trump soon became the oldest candidate in the presidential race. This gave Democrats the motivation to spin the age narrative against Trump. In several campaign events, Harris questioned Trump’s stamina and even called him “unhinged”.

“If he can’t handle the rigours of the campaign trail, is he fit to do the job?” the Democratic presidential nominee told rallygoers in Michigan, earlier this week. “Trump is unfit for office," she remarked, which was followed by a thunderous applause from the audience.

Harris is not the only one who took potshots at Trump’s age. Former President Barack Obama went on to cast Trump as a huckster who lacks the mental fitness to lead the nation. “You would be worried if your grandpa was acting like this,” Obama said of Trump’s bizarre town hall appearance this week in which he stopped taking questions and instead swayed to music onstage for more than half an hour. “Tucson, we do not need to see what an older, loonier Donald Trump looks like with no guardrails," he added.

While Trump started off the race in an attacking position, he soon found himself defending his own old age. In one such bizarre attempt, the former president went on to state that he would hire a CEO of his age.

“I know many people in their 80s. I know guys in their 80s that won’t leave the company, like family companies where they don’t want the kids to take over because they’re much more competent than their kids,” Trump told Bloomberg on Tuesday. “You just say some of our great world leaders are in the 80s. And if you look throughout history, some of our greatest world leaders were in their 80s. No, that wouldn’t bother me,” he added. Trump’s defence is now making many wonder why he did not give the same grace to Biden.

While the world will be closely watching the November polls, it will be interesting to see if in this election US will witness the start of an era where Gen X will lead the country.