There has already been much speculation about how the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump might affect his campaign and his chances of winning a second term in office.
But what about how it might affect President Joe Biden’s campaign?
Before Saturday’s rally at which the assassination attempt occurred, the focus was on Biden’s poor debate performance against Trump and heightened concerns about his age and mental acuity. There was much talk among Democrats about either persuading him to drop out of the race or replacing him against his will.
Now, much of this talk has abated for the moment. Democrats are reportedly focused on other matters related to the shooting.
Congressional Democrats’ all-consuming angst over President Biden’s candidacy has taken an abrupt backseat in lawmakers’ minds in the wake of an assassination attempt against former President Trump.
Why it matters: Democratic lawmakers say their immediate focus is on their personal security and that of their staffs, not on their party’s political woes, helping to allow a crucial cooldown period for the embattled president.
“We’re all just focused on expressing condolences … and keeping our teams safe,” said one House Democrat who has been fiercely critical of Biden.
A senior House Democrat suggested the post shooting atmosphere in the party is too “chaotic” for internal battles over leadership.
Biden had previously been meeting with Democratic politicians, including governors, members of the Congressional Hispanic and Black Caucuses, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Some of these meetings did not go well for the president. During his meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, one of the lawmakers asked him to leave the race.
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A senior House Democrat told Axios that the assassination attempt had alleviated some pressure for the president because it would “be bad form to make any statements against President Biden” right now.
This might be good news for the beleaguered president, who had been spending the past two weeks fending off attacks while trying to reassure his allies and the voting public that he is still fit to serve in the White House.
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The Axios report explains why we haven’t heard much about the controversy over Biden’s debate performance. There are two factors we can glean from this.
For starters, it is now even more unlikely that Democrats will be able to replace Biden unless he chooses to bow out of the race. The president has repeatedly affirmed that he intends to continue his campaign, so this probably won’t happen unless something drastic occurs.
The assassination attempt, along with the goings on at the Republican National Convention, will probably dominate the news cycle for the foreseeable future as more information emerges about the shooting. Indeed, it was recently reported that the FBI managed to unlock the gunman’s phone, which could mean there will be some revelations about his motives coming up soon. The debate this information will spark will suck up even more attention from the media.
However, Biden is not out of the woods yet. While he is probably safe as the Democratic nominee, his age issues are not going away anytime soon. His chances of winning reelection have been greatly diminished and people are not going to forget about his poor showing at the debate. Moreover, there is still plenty of time for Biden’s cognitive issues to be on full display between now and November. He won’t be able to avoid making public appearances as he did during the 2020 campaign.
The boost that Trump has received because of the assassination attempt, combined with Biden’s struggles, add up to a very precarious position politically for the president’s campaign. At this point, it appears the race is Trump’s to lose.
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