God saved Trump, can Biden still beat him?

It’s nothing less than a miracle how former US president Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt on his life. And as expected, the Republican National Convention is officially designating him as their presidential candidate.

The question is can Joe Biden still beat Donald Trump who has emerged as a force multiplier?

Since the assassination attempt, the former president’s popularity has increased manyfold. As a result, he is expected to get some sympathy votes as well.

With that in mind, the Republicans are convinced that their path to the White House is even more clear.

On the other hand, Democrats, who know well that the stakes are enormously high, are sceptical. Naturally, they should be for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, their presumptive Democratic nominee is unfortunately pushed to the defensive position.

Biden himself has admitted that "Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania calls on all of us to take a step back, take stock of where we are, how we go forward from here."

However, it equally applies to Trump. Yet, Biden should also take stock of at least what he speaks.

In his first address to the nation, after a young white American tried unsuccessfully to eliminate the Republican presidential candidate, Biden made some grave blunders.

Biden, addressed fighting fit former president Donald Trump as "FORMER TRUMP’" The 81-year-old couldn’t even rightly spell the word "injured". He misspoke it as "LINJURED".

Still, there was more to come. Instead of using the word ballot box, he went on to say, "We resolve our differences at the "BATTOL" box. And, then repeated as, "That’s how we do it, at the "BATTOL" box.

Biden must realise that he is already being blamed by many Republicans for what happened to Trump. He should be careful in pronouncing words or at least limit his speech.

Earlier, at the NATO Summit that focused almost entirely on Ukraine, he had introduced President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was standing next to him, as (Russian) "President Putin".

Democrats will overlook some of the gaffes listed above but they may never forget how Biden lost his train of thought and called Vice President Kamala Harris as "Vice President Trump".

The incumbent president may overlook them. However, these fumbles are making him a laughingstock at home and abroad.

So, should the Democratic National Convention propose another presidential nominee?

Well, it’s a prerogative of the Democratic Party and its delegates who are scheduled to gather at their National Convention in August.

They know well that Biden has already won 87% of the votes in primaries and 3,900 delegates (to win the Democratic nomination, the support of only 1,968 pledged delegates is required) for his bid for a 2nd term.

At the top of it, due to some technical issues, it has become almost impossible for the DNC to propose another nominee.

That is why Biden says, "You made me the nominee. No one else. Not the press, not the pundits, not the insiders, not the donor. And I’m not going anywhere."

Yes, Biden can himself decide to drop out. Yet, he must not go anywhere and stay the course. He should rather utilise this time to prepare himself well to avoid another debate debacle.

For him, the 2nd debate would be a moment to prove that, "I wouldn’t be running again if I did not absolutely believe I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024."

Moreover, he should focus on his achievements and vision for the next four years. At the same time, he should relentlessly warn voters of imagining "the nightmare of Donald Trump" and how they can save "American democracy".

For sure, these steps are not a winning streak. They are some of the only options left for the Democrats struggling against the Republican wave.

Many of the top democrats are convinced that they have grim chances to win. It’s not merely because Biden fell flat at the first presidential debate, made a series of disastrous gaffes or can be knocked out again in the 2nd debate.

It is most probably because the Democrats have failed to field a well-suited candidate in time. Probably, they underestimated Trump's resurgence.

In the run-up to the primaries, many democrats had believed Republican Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis would emerge victorious. Finding circumstances unfavourable, DeSantis got dropped out, leaving the field wide open for Trump.

Still, many democrats hoped that the courts would sentence Trump over scandals and riots at the Capitol. Even that didn’t work. And there is the least probability that he would be barred now.

For Democrats, facing Trump is a dilemma and a challenge beyond imagination. They are mindful of the fact that how Trump had beaten Hillary Clinton in 2016.

It seems that is the reason why Kamala Harris, who is the top contender to be the president, is avoiding being in the limelight. She is tactfully encouraging Biden to face the "bully".

Governor of California Gavin Newsom is another bright candidate who harbours hope to become president. Yet, he has categorically said that "Joe Biden is our nominee, he’s our president…..And I look forward to voting for him."

Be it Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, Gretchen Whitmer, Dean Philips, Sherrod Brown or any other potential contender, they are well aware that the time to become the presidential nominee has long gone. Those who are aiming high will love to contest next time. Why?

The reason is obvious. Allegations on one side, there is no denying that Trump has a charismatic personality that attracts voters. He knows how to make headlines and remain the talk of the town.

Yes, Trump can be "one of the most divisive American politicians" but, at the same time, he has a strong base.

Either he can be "eliminated" or defeated by his own actions as he had lost to Biden in 2020 after four controversial years in office.

It’s time for all Democrats to unite and remind voters across the country of Trump’s time in the White House. This may work.

For that, they should definitely step back, take stock of where they are and make a strategy to move forward. In doing so, they should also be mindful of how their own great country has descended into political violence.

Though, the motive behind that assassination attempt is yet to be revealed, the incident has all the hallmarks that it is probably a case of politically oriented domestic terrorism.

However, it’s a dangerous trend that some Republicans are blaming Biden for life attempt on Trump. Putting gasoline on fire will further poison the political environment currently prevailing in America.

God has saved Trump and, if there is no dramatic change, it is close to impossible for Biden to beat him on November 6.

To celebrate victory, the Republicans should keep playing the victim card but not at the cost of their society and America, they want to make it great again.