A congressional Democrat reportedly said that the assassination attempt against Republican 2024 presidential nominee Donald Trump saved President Joe Biden from a full-blown revolt.
Democrats have increasingly pressured Biden to drop his reelection bid following the president’s poor debate performance against Trump on June 27. Momentum for Biden’s exit slowed down after Trump was shot in the right ear after 6 p.m. Saturday at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Biden held a “tense” Zoom call with moderate congressional Democrats Saturday to discuss stemming the the rising number of members of Congress calling for him to exit the presidential race, participants in the call told Axios. One congressional Democrat on the call told Puck News that the assassination attempt prevented as many as 50 people in the meeting, which ended after 5 p.m., from publicly calling for Biden to step aside.
“Had the assassination attempt not occurred an hour later, I imagine 50 people on that Zoom were ready to come out publicly against him,” the congressional Democrat told Puck News.
Biden had rambling Zoom call with dozens of Dems ‘worse than the debate’ shortly before Trump assassination attempt: report https://t.co/ZfeEMjCGN9 pic.twitter.com/B8K6miOhiG
— New York Post (@nypost) July 17, 2024
One source close to the Biden administration told the outlet that the failed assassination of Trump “took the pressure off” the president.
“The Biden replacement talk? It’s over,” the source reportedly said. “I think the assassination attempt took the pressure off for a critical 72 hours. Also, the Hill never got it’s act together—and death by 270 cuts doesn’t work.”
Another participant in Saturday’s call described Biden’s “rambling” speech patterns as “worse than the debate,” according to the outlet. The participant told the outlet he “lost a ton of respect” for Biden, who could not “complete an answer.”
“The call was even worse than the debate,” the anonymous participant reportedly said. “He was rambling; he’d start an answer then lose his train of thought, then would just say, ‘whatever.’ He really couldn’t complete an answer. I lost a ton of respect for him.”
The Biden campaign reportedly denied the participants’ description of the Democratic president’s behavior, redirecting the outlet to several social media posts from additional participants characterizing Biden as “sharp” and “forceful.” However, they did not dispute reporting that Biden lashed out at Democratic Colorado Rep. Jason Crow over voters’ poor reception of the president, according to Puck News. (RELATED: ‘I’m Supposed To Be Dead’: Donald Trump Reflects After ‘Very Surreal’ Brush With Death)
Biden was using garbled language when he scolded at Crow for being “dead wrong on national security” and referenced his Bronze Star, the outlet reported, citing a portion of the Zoom call it had reviewed.
“Name me a foreign leader who thinks I’m not the most effective leader in the world on foreign policy,” Biden reportedly challenged Crow in the call. “Tell me! Tell me who the hell that is! Tell me who put NATO back together! Tell me who enlarged NATO, tell me who did the Pacific basin! Tell me who did something that you’ve never done with your Bronze Star like my son—and I’m proud of your leadership, but guess what, what’s happening, we’ve got Korea and Japan working together, I put Aukus together, anyway! … Things are in chaos, and I’m bringing some order to it. And again, find me a world leader who’s an ally of ours who doesn’t think I’m the most respected person they’ve ever—”
“It’s not breaking through, Mr. President,” Crow told Biden, the outlet reported. “To our voters.”
“You oughta talk about it!” Biden reportedly argued, again listing his declared accomplishment in foreign policy. “On national security, nobody has been a better president than I’ve been. Name me one. Name me one! So, I don’t want to hear that crap!”
Biden has repeatedly insisted that he will be the 2024 Democratic candidate, participating in televised interviews with NBC News’ Lester Holt, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos and two black radio hosts from Milwaukee and Philadelphia in an attempt to prove his mental fitness.
Almost 20 congressional Democrats have publicly pressured Biden to exit the race, according to The Associated Press. Colorado Rep. Brittany Pettersen and California Rep. Mike Levin were among the members of Congress who stated publicly that Biden should step aside following the President’s NATO press briefing Thursday. Democratic Vermont Senator Peter Welch called for Biden to step aside in an op-ed published July 10 in The Washington Post.
