The effort to replace President Biden as the Democratic Party’s 2024 nominee has lost all momentum and is essentially “over” following the assassination attempt against former President Trump, allies of the president say, according to a new report.
A steady stream of Democratic lawmakers and top donors had called on Biden to drop out of the race throughout last week and the weekend. Allies of Biden now say Trump’s attempted slaying has taken the wind from the sails of Biden’s critics.
“I think it’s over,” one ally to the president told NBC News. “You just lose all momentum.”
“They were having a very bad political day, and then we had this supernova event. Now, it’s frozen,” one Democratic strategist told the outlet. “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. This event blocks out the sun right now.”
TRUMP SAYS HE WAS ‘SHOT WITH A BULLET’ IN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AT PENNSYLVANIA RALLY
Biden addressed the nation soon after the assassination attempt on Saturday, condemning the violence and saying he was praying for Trump and his family.
“I have been briefed on the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania,” Biden said in a statement at the time. “I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well. I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information. Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.”
TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT SHINES LIGHT ON RALLY SECURITY
Biden later spoke to Trump over the phone, but details of their conversation have not been released. Biden also spoke with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy.
Biden’s campaign reacted quickly to cancel plans for ads attacking Trump for the time being. Staffers were told to “refrain from issuing any comments on social media or in public,” according to NBC News.
ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON TRUMP AT PENNSYLVANIA RALLY LEAVES 2 HURT, 2 DEAD, INCLUDING SHOOTER
“It’s likely the effort to dislodge Biden has ended. He’s not going to voluntarily step aside in this moment,” another Biden ally told the outlet. “Biden demonstrated he’s going to fight.”
The assassination attempt took place two days before the start of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Trump will be formally nominated as the GOP’s 2024 presidential candidate.
The Democratic National Committee told Fox News that it is in the process of pulling down ads that it went up with on Monday on 57 municipal buses in Milwaukee, the site of the GOP convention.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report
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