Why the Replace Biden campaign likely came to an end on Saturday: they no longer believe it even matters

A longtime Democratic insider, discussing the iconic photo of Trump pumping his fist in the air with blood dripping down his face and the American flag waving behind him told NBC, “We’re so beyond f*cked.”

A veteran of Democratic congressional campaigns said of the iconic image, “The clear effect of this assassination attempt is that it officially thrust Donald Trump out of politics and into martyrdom. 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 added that Democrats will “never be able to compete with that level of enthusiasm among base voters. So yeah, we’re even more f*cked with Biden. ... And relying on Trump to be a galvanizing, unifying enemy won’t work as well.”

A Democratic consultant told the outlet, “The presidential contest ended last night.” He added, “Now it’s time to focus on keeping the Senate and trying to pick up the House. The only positive thing to come out of last night for Democrats is we are no longer talking about Joe Biden’s age today.”

Another Democratic strategist told NBC that the attempt on Trump’s life destroyed Biden’s key argument that the former president is a threat to democracy. According to the strategist, “That message is dead,” adding that the bullet that nicked Trump’s ear “probably saved Biden’s nomination” by stopping calls from Democrats for him to end his campaign and “doomed his re-election.”

Co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Adam Green, told the outlet, “I’m very concerned that the net effect of the Republican convention will be neutralizing the core democracy critique of Trump — a felon who fomented a violent insurrection, tried to block the peaceful transfer of power, and said the Constitution may need to be terminated.”

Green continued, “There is a race to define the democracy critique of Trump as legitimate, and we all need to make clear now that protecting democracy is the exact opposite of political violence.”

Polls taken after the debate but before the assassination attempt have so far shown the election is close with Trump pulling ahead as Biden’s approval drops.