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President Joe Biden reportedly participated in a Zoom call with dozens of moderate Democrats that was described as being "tense" and "even worse that the debate" on Saturday (July 13), within an hour before the assassination attempt on his election opponent, former President Donald Trump, multiple sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to Puck (h/t the New York Post).
Biden, 81, reportedly lost his train of thought while attempting to dismiss other Democrats' concerns regarding his chances in the 2024 election following a disastrous in the first presidential debate last month.
“The call was even worse than the debate. 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,” one person on the call told Puck.
“The president was rambling, dismissive of concerns, unable or unprepared to present a campaign strategy,” said another source, identified as a member of Congress.
The assassination attempt against Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, apparently stopped the Democrats from leaking details about the call to the public shortly after the call concluded.
“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 member of Congress told Puck.
Biden was reported to have snapped at Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) after being asked about the importance of national security to voters.
“First of all, I think you’re dead wrong on national security,” Biden reportedly said during the call, according to Puck.
“You saw what happened recently in terms of the meeting we had with NATO. I put NATO together. Name me a foreign leader who thinks I’m not the most effective leader in the world on foreign policy. Tell me!” he added. “Tell me who did something that you’ve never done with your Bronze Star like my son.”
Biden reportedly ended the call just after 5:00 p.m. local time, having told the other Democrats that he had to go to church. Representatives for the Biden campaign denied the president was rambling during the call.
“Just in the past week, the president has met with Democratic leaders in both chambers and numerous congressional groups to solicit their feedback and answer their questions,” a campaign official said via the New York Post.