Frenzied Democratic effort to replace Biden comes to a standstill after Trump rally shooting

For two weeks, tumult enveloped the Democratic Party. Suddenly, it’s all at a standstill.

Numerous Democrats said Saturday the assassination attempt at former President Donald Trump's rally in Pennsylvania would put a halt to any efforts to replace President Joe Biden. At least for now.

“I think it’s over,” a Biden ally said. “You just lose all momentum.”

Before gunfire rang out at the event — injuring Trump, killing an attendee and injuring another — Biden had been on a damage control tour in the wake of a disastrous presidential debate on June 27. As Biden tried to tamp down calls for him to step aside as the presumptive Democratic nominee, he held caucus calls with groups of House Democrats on Saturday that was meant to allay concerns. Instead, it left many elected officials unimpressed.

“They were having a very bad political day, and then we had this supernova event. Now, it’s frozen,” said a longtime Democratic strategist involved in multiple presidential campaigns. “If you’re an advocate for: ‘How do we tell the old man it’s time to go?’ — it’s really hard to have that conversation publicly. This event blocks out the sun right now.”

Instead of awaiting the possibility of more calls from Congress that he step aside, Biden instead took the stage as president, addressing the nation in a live televised address, in which he condemned violence.

“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence; it’s sick, it’s sick,” Biden said. And then, returning to one of the foundational themes dating to when he first ran for office in 2019, he said, “It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country.”

In the aftermath of the Trump rally violence, Biden’s operation pumped the brakes on politics. In the immediate