With Donald Trump having narrowly escaped death at the hands of a would-be assassin on Saturday, the state of the presidential race has never been more chaotic. In the weeks prior, all eyes were on Joe Biden and his severe mental and physical decline, with many high-level Democrats desperately trying to organize a way to force him out of the race.
Yet, after the attempt on Trump's life, the rush to replace Biden as the Democratic Party nominee has essentially ended, and not for the reason one might think. According to NBC News, the replacement campaign has lost steam not because Democrats think the president can seize a moment of unity, but because they think the race is now over.
“We’re so beyond f---ed,” one longtime Democratic insider said, noting that the image of Trump thrusting his fist in the air, with blood dramatically smeared across his face, will be indelible.
“The presidential contest ended last night,” said a veteran Democratic consultant, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to give a candid assessment of his own party’s standing less than four months before the election.
“Now it’s time to focus on keeping the Senate and trying to pick up the House,” he said. “The only positive thing to come out of last night for Democrats is we are no longer talking about Joe Biden’s age today.”
A Biden campaign spokesperson did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment on how the attempted assassination of Trump might affect the dynamics of their rematch. A White House spokesperson declined to comment.
Is the presidential campaign truly over? Being a natural cynic about politics means I'll never believe that before all the votes are tallied. Still, it's very telling that Democrats are throwing their hands up and retreating to rear fortifications. Perhaps they don't want to waste the career of anyone on their bench, but the bigger question is what this means for the money.
Reports of fundraising drying up for Biden have been prevalent since his disastrous debate performance. If that situation gets even worse, it could starve the president's campaign regardless of whatever path to victory might exist on paper.
On the other hand, I'm not sure the idea of trying to keep the Senate and retake the House is much of a backup plan. The Senate map is brutal for Democrats, and unlike 2022, the list of candidates in various swing states is strong with few exceptions. As odd as it may sound, trying to help Biden pull off a miracle by infusing his campaign with cash may be the best of a lot of bad options.
What's certain, though, is that Democrats are in a bad spot. If they try to push too hard going forward against Trump and Republicans with more "threat to democracy" nonsense, they could further alienate swing voters. If they lay low, then they risk losing any initiative that might be for the taking. I guess that's one of the downsides of having an ideological ally try to murder your political opponent.
Here's the Democrats' biggest problem, though. Whether the race ended or not on Saturday evening, they were already deep in the hole before that. This isn't a case of one world-shaking event sinking their prospects. It's a case of an avalanche of events, including Biden being exposed as senile, compounding. That makes any possible comeback all the more unlikely. Of course, the normal disclaimer applies. This is politics, and anything can happen.
