In an interview on PBS’s “Firing Line” conducted Wednesday and released Friday, Democratic strategist James Carville said Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential run was characterized by her “listening to a bunch of ridiculous things.”
Host Margaret Hoover said: [relevant exchange begins around 14:55] “If you were running this campaign, you would know that Republicans are already attacking Vice President Harris for being too progressive. They saw her run in 2020 and [the] “She promised to eliminate the filibuster and pass the Green New Deal and ban fracking and offshore drilling. She’s said she’s open to abolishing ICE and providing health care to illegal immigrants. She’s going to get hammered by the Trump campaign and the Republican Party for being dangerously progressive. What would you advise her as a candidate now?”
Carville responded, “First of all, I don’t know how many business leaders have said that Trump’s economic plan would destroy the economy. I don’t know how to say this, but I’d be willing to bet that national security figures, veterans, everyone would publicly say that Trump is a terrible threat to our national security? I don’t know how to say this, but Trump wants to pull out of NATO. There are 26 women who have credibly accused him of sexual misconduct. The other side plays the game. There’s this feeling that only Republicans get to play this game, and Democrats are just doomed to sit back and let them smack them. I don’t think I’m playing that game, and I hope she isn’t either.”
Huber continued: “No, but how should she respond to criticism that she’s too progressive? Should she run as a centrist?”
Carville responded, “I can’t. You want me to answer all of them? On fracking, the Biden administration has issued more drilling permits than any other administration. I don’t know if that’s an achievement, but it’s a fact. The crime rate in the United States has gone down substantially since Donald Trump was president. That’s a fact. We can discuss anything.”
Huber interjected: “So you’re arguing that she should run as a centrist, not as a progressive?”
Carville responded: “She’s got to make a proposition. And we can go back and find something that somebody said at some point in their life that they wish they hadn’t said. That’s easy. But I think it really depends on her being able to define herself. I actually think she’s going to have to introduce herself, because she’s not that well known. There’s a caricature of her on Fox News, but most people don’t know much about her, and of course the Republicans are going to try to present her on their own terms.”
He added that Harris should use her background as a prosecutor to run.
He then added: [relevant remarks begin around 24:35] “Her 2020 campaign was absolutely awful. I think her problem was that her stupid strategists told her she couldn’t talk about being a prosecutor or an attorney general, so she had nothing to talk about. She just tried to lay out a laundry list of ridiculous positions. Actually, it helps who she is in a way. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with her talking about being a prosecutor or a pro-consumer attorney general. But that’s part of the political landscape, but I expect, and early indications are, that she’s improved. I think people can actually grow. I’m almost 80, and I like to give myself a little pat on the back in life. I’ve grown a little. I’ve learned something. I’ve gained something that I didn’t have before.”
to follow Ian Hanchett’s Twitter Ian Hanchett
