Democrats back off Biden after Trump shooting, but clock still ticking

For Democrats, the phrase of the day was “proceed with caution.”

A day after a gunman attempted to assassinate former President Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, and after the Democratic Party continued to debate whether or not President Biden should withdraw from the presidential election, the president’s allies and other party operatives were left quietly wondering how the latest plot twist in the campaign would ultimately play out.

For the time being, out of respect for Trump on the heels of the tragic events, Biden has paused any political activity, taking down even political advertising. But a flurry of questions still remained for Democrats: Would the moment give Biden a reprieve from the calls to withdraw? Would the image of Trump’s clenched fist, blood dripping down his face, portray him in a new light? And what would it all mean for Democrats as the Republican National Convention kicks off on Monday?

“There are more questions than answers right now,” one top Democratic strategist and a close Biden ally acknowledged. “I don’t think anyone knows how this will turn out, even this week. There are so many unknowns.”

Above all, the debate around Biden’s age and mental acuity was on hold, according to more than a dozen Democratic sources who requested anonymity to speak openly about a sensitive topic, which no one wanted to touch in the hours following the shooting.

While the conversation around whether or not Biden should withdraw dominated the headlines and created a seemingly endless news cycle over the past two weeks, Democrats from lawmakers to donors quickly fell silent on the issue.

“This is not the time,” one Democratic donor, who has expressed reservations about Biden in recent days, said. “That’s not to say it won’t come back in a few days or next week. But it would be incredibly insensitive to have the debate on Biden right now.”