Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville discussed the outcome of the 2024 White House election Thursday, calling a decisive victory for President-elect Trump “depressing.”
“We need to reevaluate,” Carville said in a video released. Posted by: Politicon. “I'm sure you'll come up with a way to feel better again, but right now, today, it's hard. I'll be honest.”
“And the hardest part is, when you look around this country, there are tens of millions of people in this problem. That's depressing,” he added.
Carville, who served as a senior adviser to former President Bill Clinton, predicted late last month that Vice President Harris would win the election. The Hill/Decision Desk headquarters called Trump's campaign early Wednesday morning.
The strategist said that although it will take some time to accept the situation, he does not think it will be a downturn forever.
“I'll be right out of there,” he said. “But I'm in a very, very dark tunnel right now.”
“All the intangible advantages” Democrats had were of no use, Carville said.
“We had all the advantages, but there was a perception of anarchy at every level: foreign policy, border policy, economic policy,” he said. “Ultimately, it seems to me that the most effective words here are that people want order and will pay anything to get it.”
As polls close across the country and counting begins Tuesday, Carville suggested the early results are concerning for Harris and Democrats.
Trump ultimately won all seven battleground states and some Democratic strongholds, including New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts and New York. Republicans could flip the Senate, and while their House majority remains in doubt, they have the advantage of holding onto it and achieving a trifecta.
The veteran strategist suggested that Democrats aren't playing the “game” well.
“You sit there, you lose a game, you look at the bench and you go, ‘Damn, why didn’t you put these guys in the game?’ But we didn’t.” he said.
