Democrats in Washington, D.C., are reportedly starting to see and plan for what they believe could be inevitable in just a few months — former President Donald Trump winning the election rematch against President Joe Biden.
Multiple publications have reported remarks from top Democrats who believe that after the assassination attempt on Trump at a campaign rally on Saturday, the only positive takeaway for the Democrat Party is that Biden’s age and health decline are no longer dominating the news cycle.
“We’ve all resigned ourselves to a second Trump presidency,” a senior House Democrat told Axios.
A longtime Democrat insider told NBC News that the image of Trump standing on stage after he had been shot, raising his fist, and shouting, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” as blood was smeared across his face would be impossible for voters to forget.
“We’re so beyond f—ed,” the insider said.
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A top Democrat consultant, who requested anonymity to speak bluntly about the party’s prospects, told NBC News that the assassination attempt “ended” the presidential race.
“Now it’s time to focus on keeping the Senate and trying to pick up the House,” he said.
A Democrat strategist who has worked on multiple presidential campaigns said that the assassination attempt destroyed Biden’s entire strategy for taking on Trump, trying to portray him as a threat to democracy.
“That message is dead,” the strategist said.
A top Democrat who specializes in congressional races said that the shooting has completely altered the race.
“The clear effect of this assassination attempt is that it officially thrust Donald Trump out of politics and into martyrdom,” the person said. “They’re framing this as an attack on MAGA and not on Trump — even more powerful. This is literally biblical stuff we’re talking about.”
The person said Democrats would “never be able to compete with that level of enthusiasm among base voters.”
“So yeah, we’re even more f—ed with Biden,” they added. “And relying on Trump to be a galvanizing, unifying enemy won’t work as well.”
Related: Trump Changes Theme Of Republican Convention After Assassination Attempt
