After nearly two weeks of relentless coverage of Joe Biden's faltering campaign, the attempted assassination of Donald Trump shifted the focus away from the Democratic Party's chaos, momentarily halting the push to replace him.
"I think it’s over," one Biden ally said on Sunday. "You just lose all momentum."
However, recent reports indicate that the coup is still very much on, and a top Democrat is behind the effort. According to a report from Politico, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is convinced that Biden is going to lose the election and "has been working the phones since June 27 in hopes of finding a way to ease him off the ticket."
One of her colleagues was struck to see her chatting, furtively but openly, with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries last week in a corner of the House Democratic cloakroom in plain sight of a dozen lawmakers.
The extent of Pelosi’s behind-the-scenes role hasn’t been fully revealed and may never be if the former speaker has her way. But I’m told by people familiar with the exchanges that she’s stage-managed phone calls to Jeffries, plotted strategy with the biggest names in Democratic politics and told one former elected official bluntly that Biden’s legacy can’t be destroying their party.
There is, of course, one major caveat. This was taking place before the assassination attempt.
Shortly before the shooting, Biden had sat through a contentious call with a group of moderate House Democrats, a dispute that led one lawmaker to phone me afterward and suggest more calls from the caucus demanding Biden stand down would be forthcoming.
Those haven’t come. The presidential campaign and the Democrats’ campaign against their own nominee have been put on hold while the country absorbs what happened and could have happened in Western Pennsylvania.
Biden, flying back to the White House Saturday night from his Delaware beach home, has sought to project the sort of sober leadership the nation desperately needs. His task, however, is not only to reassure unnerved voters — it’s also to put down, for good, the multiweek rebellion he’s facing in his ranks.
However, a separate report from Axios notes that the fight to oust Biden has been revived.
"Democratic members of Congress are reviving a fight over President Biden's candidacy following a brief respite in the wake of Saturday's assassination attempt against former President Trump," the outlet reports. "A letter circulating among congressional Democrats argues that there is 'no legal justification' for an early virtual roll call after Ohio moved its filing deadline past the date of the Democratic convention."
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While the article doesn't mention Pelosi's role in this effort, if other Democrats are back to pushing Biden out, there's little reason to believe that she hasn't resumed working behind the scenes as well.
Publicly, Pelosi has been less direct about what she thinks Biden should do and has only said that she will support whatever decision Biden makes. However, since she made those comments after Biden had repeatedly said he was staying in the race, many have interpreted her comments to suggest that the situation could change.
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