Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville argued Sunday that former President Joe Biden’s refusal to drop out of the 2024 election earlier caused lasting damage to his party.
“So, the reason the Democratic Party is in the shape it is is because Joe Biden wouldn’t get out until July the 21st of the election year, all right?” Carville said on his “Politics War Room” podcast.
“Had Joe Biden gotten out in October of 2023, we would have a Democratic president. Don’t kid yourself.
“And, by the way, all the people on the left who say the Democrats don’t fight hard enough never said a word about Biden running for re-election,” he continued. “Not any of them. They all fell into line.”
Carville has spoken previously about how the Democratic Party’s association with far-left identity politics has clung to its reputation like a foul “stench,” even as some in the party have tried to pivot.
Despite his advice and similar comments from establishment Democratic voices, an insurgent wing of democratic socialists has continued to gain influence within the party.
“I don’t know. I just don’t know,” he said when asked by CNN senior analyst Ron Brownstein about how the Democrats should treat this rising faction even as they try to distance themselves from far-left positions of the past.
“I never thought I’d see this. I’m having a little bit trouble adjusting to it both politically and just personally,” Carville said.
Brownstein suggested there is a clear lesson that can be taken from 2026.
“If the center wants to win in ’28, they’re going to have to show two things: They’ve learned from the past, and they are committed to fighting the MAGA movement with greater energy,” Brownstein said. “I don’t think ’26 proves that the left is going to win in ’28, but it shows that the center is going to have to fight to maintain control of the party.”
Despite Carville frequently condemning the far-left faction of his party, he argued that Democrats did need a change.
“We lost because people wanted a change election, and we didn’t give it to them,” he said. “And now they’re saying after we did that, ‘Fight, fight!’ Great, OK, wonderful,” he said. “The flaw in the Democratic Party right now, the reason we have no power, is Biden got out of the race too late. And had there been any kind of choice, my personal view is we would have won the thing, and it wouldn’t have been close.
“I’m not as certain that Democrats could have won even if he got out,” Brownstein replied. “But there’s no question that him staying in reduced their chances further.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Biden for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
