James Carville says Democrats broke his ‘first commandment of politics' with anti-Trump antics

Fox News

14-03-2025

Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville lamented that his party is not "meeting the moment" with their various antics aimed at President Trump.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Carville knocked Democrats' "counter-productive" display at Trump's address to Congress last week, mocking their "auction paddles" and Texas Rep. Al Green "beating a stick on the floor."
"My first commandment of politics is, 'Thine shall not make an ass of thyself." And they didn't follow the Carville first commandment," Carville chuckled.
The famed Clinton operative questioned the Democrats' optics during Trump's speech, saying Americans who tuned in were likely not impressed with their behavior, but felt the opposite regarding Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., who gave the Democratic response. Carville praised her as "measured, reasonable, articulate" by comparison.
He doubled down on his advice to Democrats in an op-ed published on FoxNews.com calling for a "strategic political retreat" as Trump's tariff war with other countries fuels economic uncertainty, which has taken a steep toll on the stock market.
"I mean, it's an old military doctrine- when your opponent is destroying themselves, do not interfere. Don't get in the way of it right now," Carville said.
Democrats have been plagued with viral blunders in recent weeks between the multiple senators who read from the same script ahead of Trump's speech to the widely-mocked "choose your fighter" video featuring Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jasmine Crockett.
"I think we're at a very perilous moment in the country. I really do. I think it might go the wrong way. And what I think Democrats should do is act like it's a very grave situation," Carville said. "And, I know that they get donors that call them and demand something. And somebody, [a] late-night person said, you know, why don't they just pass something? Well, we can't pass gas."
"I'll be honest with you, I'm not a fan of that," he said of the videos. "I think we should be deliberate and determined… I think that the Democrats have to meet the moment. And dance in videos. Auction paddles of cane banging does not meet the moment."
Last week, Minnesota governor and ex-Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz went viral when he struggled to answer the question of who was currently leading the Democratic Party, which he eventually responded "the voting public."
When asked the same question about who the current leader of the Democratic Party is, Carville quickly answered, "There is none."
"And until you have a presidential nominee, you're probably not going to have one," Carville said. "When people say the image of the Democratic Party has never been lower, A. they're pretty much correct. But the reason is Democrats don't like their own party now. Why is that? Because a political party exists to win elections, and when it doesn't win elections, the people in the party don't like it."
While he says he's not worried about Democrats in the long term due to their "stunning field" of candidates he believes will emerge in the 2028 presidential race, Carville says "big personalities dominate politics" and that there's currently an absence of inspirational candidates like John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. But he remains hopeful.
"I think we could do that. I think we're gonna do that," Carville said.