New York Times: Democrats, Biden Donors Believe Trump Now Almost Unbeatable After Assassination Attempt
The shooting of Donald Trump has galvanized his campaign, prompted Elon Musk to endorse him and forced Democrats rethink plans to oust President Biden
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The assassination attempt on Donald Trump has altered the political calculus for Democrats and some donors ahead of the election. Credit...Patrick T. Fallon/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
(New York Times) Andrew here. The attempted assassination of Donald Trump has reverberated around the world. The question for business and policy leaders, beyond the immediate implications for the election, is how to halt the increasing political violence in this nation. America’s economy and innovation may be the envy of the world, but our politics and polarized culture are not.
The heated rhetoric is only getting worse. Business leaders and donors are not doing enough to tamp it down; most won’t speak out, afraid of potential blowback, giving outsize influence to a handful of voices on social media. If most voters are genuinely in the middle, corporate executives — whose customer base is the American public — should use their voices and wallets to make sure that view is properly represented.
It’s unfortunate how big a role money plays in U.S. politics, but it’s worse that those who could influence the political machine with their resources have done next to nothing to fix a clearly broken system filled with vitriol that helped lead to the political violence this weekend we all witnessed on Saturday.
A shooting changes the election
Twenty-four hours after surviving an assassination attempt, Donald Trump arrived in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, while President Biden and political and business leaders continue to denounce the incident.
The shooting has galvanized the Trump campaign, turning his nomination at the four-day convention into more of a coronation. And the incident led some sympathetic business leaders, including Elon Musk and Bill Ackman, to publicly throw their support behind Trump.
It may have also scrambled the debate among Democrats over whether Biden should step aside: Some potential replacements are likely rethinking the wisdom of running this year, while donors are weighing support for a dark-horse candidate.
Pictures of a fist-pumping and defiant Trump dominated headlines and social media all weekend. Musk posted a video of the incident on X, his social media platform, to announce: “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery.”
A second Trump administration could give Musk a better relationship with Washington. Trump has criticized electric vehicles and threatened new tariffs that could drive up the costs at many of Musk’s businesses. But the Tesla chief has also felt slighted by the Biden administration on auto policy and sharply criticized its efforts on immigration at the border with Mexico.
For many Democrats, the shooting has changed the political calculus on Biden. The president has struggled to allay concerns among lawmakers and donors about whether he should continue to run after last month’s disastrous debate performance. While the incident has taken the spotlight off his debate stumbles, it may also undercut Biden’s argument about whether he could defeat Trump.
Political betting markets have shown an uptick in the odds that Trump wins in November.
