Democratic political strategist James Carville warned Democrats to prepare for a Republican onslaught against Vice President Harris as the GOP seeks to retake the White House from former President Trump.
“Look, she’s going to be slaughtered,” Carville said in an interview published Monday. PBS’s “Firing Line” With Margaret Hoover.
“and [Democrats] “You have to be up and ready to go, and you have to be able to be on defense and on offense at the same time,” the veteran Democratic strategist said.
Harris became the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination after President Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her last week.
Her arrival and Biden’s exit have instantly changed the complexion of the race, with polls showing a close race and Democrats appearing more enthusiastic about Harris than the incumbent.
Still, Carville said the next few weeks will be crucial as both sides try to define Harris.
“There will be a period of struggle over the definition of who Vice President Harris is, and we need to be prepared for that,” Carville said. “But I feel like the situation is better today than it was on Sunday morning.” [before Biden dropped out]”
Carville suggested Democrats were right to have higher hopes for Harris than for the 81-year-old Biden.
“What happened is people were hoping for something different, and she just projected the fact that she was hopeful about the future,” said Carville, who has expressed pessimism about Biden’s chances of reelection.
“There was no policy that anybody was pushing, there wasn’t any particular group behind it, but there was just a general sense that people wanted a different option than President Donald Trump and President Biden, and they got it,” Carville said.
