Joe Biden's "big boy" press conference on Thursday evening may not have been a complete disaster like the presidential debate that took place too weeks earlier, but it also failed to provide enough reassurances to the left to prevent more Democratic candidates and progressive groups from demanding his step aside as the party's presidential candidate. 

On Thursday, several more Democrats in Congress publicly called on Biden to step down, and the head of the climate change group Sunrise Movement added his voice to the growing chorus on the left telling Biden it's time to go. 

Sunrise’s Executive Director Aru Shiney-Ajay on Friday cited low enthusiasm for Biden among young people, which she said in a statement has continued to drop since his disastrous debate performance last month, and urged the president to “pass the torch to a new nominee.”

I'm guessing Shiney-Ajay hasn't spoken to young David Hogg, whose last post on X as of Friday afternoon was a retweet of a post from the Biden-Harris HQ account shortly after the embattled president wrapped up his press conference last night. 

That wasn't exactly a strong show of support for Biden, but it's about the best he's seen from the gun control lobby over the past two weeks. Giffords shared the same clip from the press conference on Thursday nigh and praised Biden's anti-gun efforts in the past, but didn't go so far as to say he should remain atop the Democratic ticket.  

President @JoeBiden has done more to save our children from gun violence than any president in history.

Donald Trump promised the NRA he wouldn't do a thing. pic.twitter.com/hwaHb19fjB

— GIFFORDS (@GIFFORDS_org) July 12, 2024

Groups like Brady and Everytown, on the other hand, didn't even share Biden's anti-gun meanderings on their X accounts last night. Instead, they've maintained the same radio silence they took after Hunter Biden was convicted on federal gun charges; refusing to say anything at all about their endorsed candidate, much less his unprecedented fight to stay on the ticket. 

Instead, they're much more concerned about... ammunition vending machines. 

“In Paris, a few euros will get you a freshly baked baguette from a vending machine and in Tokyo it’s ramen. In the gun industry’s America, it’s ammo.” - @NickSuplinahttps://t.co/k6zZ82ALuN

— Everytown (@Everytown) July 12, 2024

The gun industry wants to treat ammunition like it’s candy. But easier access to bullets is the last thing our country needs, especially as guns are the number one killer of kids in America.

Sign now to tell grocery stores to stop this deadly trend: https://t.co/dpQvQDpvAo pic.twitter.com/UrS5UxPrVJ

— Brady | United Against Gun Violence (@bradybuzz) July 11, 2024

I don't know about you, but I've never had to show my ID before I bought a Snickers bar, unlike customers of American Rounds' ammunition vending machines. 

Regardless of Brady's ridiculous comparison, the fact is that eight vending machines in Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas aren't the biggest issue confronting the gun control lobby right now. So why aren't groups like Everytown or Brady coming to Biden's defense? Why are organizations like Giffords and activists like David Hogg offering guarded support (at best) for Biden remaining in place as the Democrats' nominee? Heck, March for Our Lives, which is the gun control equivalent of the "youth group" Sunrise Movement, hasn't posted anything at all to X since July 8th. Shouldn't the group be vocally showing the support of young gun control activists for the Biden campaign right now? 

The fact of the matter is that no matter who the Democrats run for president this year, they're going to get the full support and backing of the gun control lobby. Biden's been a great friend to anti-gun activists, so I doubt we'll see any gun control outfit publicly call for him to step down, but there's also no real upside for any group to explicitly state that he's still their preferred candidate in November if he's hours or days away from being pushed out. But are they quietly freaking out about Biden behind the scenes? I think that's a fair bet. 

Te anti-gun lobby's profile in cowardice stands in stark contrast to their advice in the gun control playbook called "Preventing Gun Violence Through Effective Messaging". The guide tells activists that when a high-profile shooting happens, "don't hesitate to speak out" as well as "don't assume the facts - and don't wait for them." 

Gun control activists are supposed to use every opportunity possible to tout their ideology (and their favorite politicians), so the current silence on the single biggest issue of the day -one that directly involves their endorsed candidate for president, no less- speaks volumes about their confidence in Biden's reelection chances.