![Joe Biden has faced multiple calls to stand down as the Democrat presidential candidate](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/en-us/politics/2024/07/14/TELEMMGLPICT000385518699_17209575267580_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqQO4K2MIbTkqwA_Ly6qWz5m0OIexj9Tyoad0YhI1eL5E.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Democrats fear moment to replace Biden may have passed as attention turns to assassination attempt
After Donald Trump was shot at a rally, the President’s team are more likely to focus on diplomacy rather than mutiny
![Joe Biden has faced multiple calls to stand down as the Democrat presidential candidate](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/en-us/politics/2024/07/14/TELEMMGLPICT000385518699_17209575267580_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqQO4K2MIbTkqwA_Ly6qWz5m0OIexj9Tyoad0YhI1eL5E.jpeg?imwidth=680)
A Democrat coup to oust Joe Biden as the party’s presidential nominee is thought to be over after the assassination attempt against Donald Trump on Saturday night.
Party insiders said they thought manoeuvring to remove Mr Biden as the Democratic nominee would “lose all momentum” in the aftermath of the shooting.
Mr Biden has been facing calls to stand down from the 2024 election after a series of public gaffes that began on stage with Trump at the first presidential debate on June 27.
The 81-year-old President has previously said he will not suspend his campaign and dared his critics to challenge him for the nomination. More than 20 sitting Democrats have called for him to go.
The picture for Mr Biden worsened earlier this week, when he referred to Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin” and Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump” at a Nato summit.
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However, strategists said the internal drama has now been superseded by the attempt on Trump’s life, which killed a rally attendee.
“I think it’s over,” a Biden ally told NBC News. “You just lose all momentum.”
A second insider said it was difficult to “tell the old man it’s time to go” after the shooting. “It’s really hard to have that conversation publicly,” they said. “This event blocks out the sun right now.”
The shooting may lead to a boost in public support for Trump, who is already leading Mr Biden in most swing states and by a small margin in national polls.
After Ronald Reagan was shot in March 1981, shortly after taking office, he saw an eight-point poll boost that lasted several months.
![Donald Trump survived an attempt on his life during a campaign rally](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/en-us/politics/2024/07/14/TELEMMGLPICT000385523695_17209575740110_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqMq9xz1OqrtWfHkNjnZTL5VNaB-pGcn66M9E8pCMurQE.jpeg?imwidth=350)
On Saturday night the implied probability of a Trump victory on the US political betting markets jumped to 70 per cent.
Mr Biden led calls for political unity after the incident, describing it as “sick”, but has also been blamed by some Republicans for anti-Trump rhetoric.
“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence,” Mr Biden said in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Some Democrats feel that Mr Biden now has an opportunity to appear presidential on the national stage, as Washington and the world react to the first credible assassination attempt on a president in 40 years.
In the aftermath of the attack, the Biden-Harris campaign said it was “pausing all outbound communications and working to pull down our television ads as quickly as possible.”