(Headline USA) Democrats admitted this week that the intra-party squabble over whether to replace the 81-year-old at the top of the Democratic ticket is now “over” following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
“They were having a very bad political day, and then we had this supernova event. Now, it’s frozen,” one Democratic strategist told NBC News.
“If you’re an advocate for: ‘How do we tell the old man it’s time to go?’—it’s really hard to have that conversation publicly,” the source added. “This event blocks out the sun right now.”
A steady stream of Democrat lawmakers and donors had called on Biden to drop out of the race following his disastrous debate against Trump. Biden rebuffed their demands, insisting that he remained the best candidate to beat Trump in November.
Now, Democrats will have an extremely difficult time arguing against him, one ally close to Biden told NBC.
“I think it’s over,” the ally said. “You just lose all momentum.”
With a challenge to Biden’s candidacy now insurmountable, those within the party who had hoped to push him out have now resigned themselves to a 2024 loss.
“We’re so beyond f***ed,” a senior House Democrat told Axios.
A top Democratic consultant agreed with that assessment, arguing Democrats now need to focus on mitigating the damage to down-ballot races.
“Now it’s time to focus on keeping the Senate and trying to pick up the House,” he said.
The consultant explained that the assassination attempt on Trump has neutered the Biden campaign’s entire strategy.
Biden will now have to think twice before labeling Trump a “threat to democracy,” he said.
“That message is dead,” he added. “So yeah, we’re even more f***ed with Biden. And relying on Trump to be a galvanizing, unifying enemy won’t work as well.”
