Stick a fork in Joe Biden. He's done.
After the recent turmoil his party went through after the debate, which significantly damaged his candidacy and prompted calls for him to drop out, Democratic strategists who spoke with NBC News on Sunday say that now the failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump most certainly was the true end of his hopes of getting reelected.
"We're so beyond f---ed," lamented a longtime Democratic insider, emphasizing that the image of Trump thrusting his fist in the air, blood dramatically smeared across his face, will be an unforgettable image between now and Election Day.
"The presidential contest ended last night," said another veteran Democratic consultant, who spoke with the network anonymously to offer an honest assessment of the party's position in the wake of Saturday night's tragic events, which also resulted in the death of one rally attendee and seriously wounded two others.
Related: The Attempt on Trump's Life Likely Saved Biden From the DNC Coup
"Now it's time to focus on keeping the Senate and trying to pick up the House," he added. "The only silver lining for Democrats is that we're no longer talking about Joe Biden's age today."
A Biden campaign spokesperson pointed to the president's Monday interview with NBC Nightly News host Lester Holt, along with his primetime speech scheduled for Sunday night, saying he would give "a forceful and needed address to update the nation on the horrifying attack on Donald Trump and the need for every American to come together to not just condemn, but put to an end political violence in this country once and for all."
"Following the president’s interview Monday evening, both the DNC and the campaign will continue drawing the contrast between our positive vision for the future and Trump and Republicans’ backwards-looking agenda over the course of the week," the campaign official said.
But in nearly a dozen interviews with Democratic strategists, operatives, aides and voters, there was a clear divide between Democrats who believe the attempt to kill Trump will end up helping him and those who say it won’t change much. Few suggested that it would improve Biden’s chances.
Others are a bit more bullish for Biden, such as Cornell Belcher, a pollster who worked for former President Barack Obama. He believes that neither the shooting nor the debate will significantly alter the race.
I guess he hasn't paid attention to the post-debate polling.
Belcher nevertheless insists that there will be no substantial shift among swing voters.
“Does that moderate, suburban, college-educated mom who is worried about how to pay for college for her daughter and whether her daughter will have as many rights in her life as she has had in hers — does the shooting make her go, ‘Oh, my God! I’m going to vote for Trump!’ No,” he argued.
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Another Democratic strategist more realistically argued that Biden has lost his main argument against Trump. As he noted, Biden has tried to convince voters that Trump is an extremist and a threat to democracy.
“That message is dead,” the strategist said. He argued that the bullet that struck Trump "probably saved Biden’s nomination" by halting Democratic calls for him to step aside while simultaneously "dooming his re-election."
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