What happened to the efforts by Democratic lawmakers to get President Biden to back out of seeking reelection?
Well, they’re still around, and now that the assassination attempt on former President Trump has come a long way, we can expect to see renewed efforts to convince Biden to drop out of the race, as the feeling remains that unless something changes, former President Trump and the Republican Party will crush the Democrats at the polls.
Congressional Bypass: Biden Issue Leaves Many Democrats Equivocal
The late British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan said that events are the most important factor in politics. There was an event over the weekend: a shooting. Oddly enough, that event bought President Biden more time. And the Democrats don’t have time if they want to get him out of the race.
As of Saturday afternoon, 19 Democrats had called on Biden to step down. President Biden held an online meeting with the House Progressive Caucus and the “New Democrats” coalition. Thirteen of the 19 who called on the president to step down were members of the New Democrats. Fox reportedly expects more Democrats to call on Biden to step down from the race. That number is likely to grow this week.
President Joe Biden exits St. Edmonds Catholic Church after attending Mass in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Saturday, July 13, 2024. President Biden left the church about eight minutes after former President Trump was shot at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Lee Greene for Fox News Digital)
In fact, word that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) had traveled to meet with Biden in Rehoboth, Delaware, to air Democrats’ concerns about the president didn’t break until 6:05 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Trump was shot at 6:11 pm ET.
In other words, this “event” temporarily froze efforts to remove President Biden as a candidate.
Congress to ‘de-threat’ Secret Service
“The president is putting down roots,” one House Democratic leader told Fox News about the president. “This kind of circular firing squad is not acceptable.”
Indeed, while the “incident” of the Trump shooting has highlighted recent rifts within the party over Biden, it has actually strengthened Republican unity.
(Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
A senior House Democratic leader told Fox News that “unity” had been a selling point for the Democratic Party in recent years, but the party’s poor performance in last month’s presidential debate called that unity into question.
“That armor has been exposed,” one House Democrat said, “and now Republicans are using their unity against us.”
The Senate needs a two-thirds majority vote to expel Sen. Bob Menendez.
That’s why Democrats are panicking again.
(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call)
“Fox said Democrats are aware that former President Trump’s survival and the iconic photo of him after the shooting have boosted his support among voters. After the debate, Democrats were already unlikely to win. Now they’re even more nervous.”
Click here to get the FOX News app
Therefore, it is expected that the debate over Biden’s feasibility as a presidential candidate will be rekindled. This debate began with a letter from some Democratic lawmakers calling on the Democratic National Committee to postpone the online voting on August 7.
The shooting quieted the debate over whether Biden would become the Democratic standard-bearer this fall — an “incident” like a political assassination would do — but in reality, it didn’t really erase Democratic concerns.
