James Carville has revealed the ‘colossal’ mistake Joe Biden made that will damn him in the history books.
The political expert stated that the former president’s choice to stay in the 2024 race until July was a major mistake that will impact his legacy.
He pointed out his obvious declining health and mental faculties should have been enough for him to realize he needed to stand down earlier.
But Carville did grace Biden with the title of ‘one of the most accomplished Americans since the end of World War II’.
At that time, the sitting president kept rejecting the idea of stepping aside for Kamala Harris to take over, allowing Trump to gain a strong lead in the polls nationwide.
However, Harris eventually assumed the presidency on July 21 but faced an initial surge of backing before experiencing a decline and ultimately losing to the Republican candidate in the November election.
Carville told the Politics War Room podcast: ‘He made one colossal mistake – and the Democrats made a colossal mistake by going along with it.’
The Democrat strategist, who helped Bill Clinton into the White House in 1992, continued: ‘It’s pretty much the saddest f****** thing you could imagine.’
Democratic political guru James Carville has declared former President Joe Biden ‘s decision to remain in the 2024 race until July was not only a political misstep but a historic blunder that has cast a dark shadow over his otherwise towering legacy
The mistake, James Carville says, was Biden’s refusing to step aside when the signs – his age, his declining health, and the growing chorus of concern – were already painfully clear
Podcast host Al Hunt said by the time he withdraw from the ticket the damage to his legacy and the Democratic Party had already been done.
Hunt said: ‘If he had gotten out in July of 2023, instead of being forced out a year later, just think… he would’ve been treated as a hero. His legacy would have been cherished.’
He argued the Democratic establishment enabled a delusion that Biden was the only person who could defeat Trump in the election.
Carville described him as ‘well-liked, admirable,’ a man who ‘exhibited strength through personal tragedy,’ but ultimately ‘should have been enjoying life’.
In the podcast Carville and Hunt do not give credence to any Republican conspiracy theories that suggest Biden’s health was covered up far in advance.
Biden officially withdrew on July 21, 2024, but Carville says the damage had already been done – both to Biden’s legacy and to the Democratic Party
Biden’s decline was discussed on the Politics War Room Podcast with James Carville, left and Al Hunt, right
Last week, Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones.
Hunt said: ‘There’s no evidence the cancer was known about a year before, as Trump and others have charged. He hadn’t even taken a PSA test since 2014.’
The pair also do not point to any single moment of cognitive decline that caused a policy crisis.
Hunt continued: ‘I didn’t find one instance in all the books where his slippage caused a real policy disaster.’
Carville added: ‘We pretty much know the parameters of what happened—but there’s plenty of specifics left.
‘And there are going to be so many books written on this s***. God knows what else we’ll find out.’
The pair do not point to any single moment of cognitive decline that caused a policy crisis. Pictured, Biden falls on stage during the June 2023 USAF Academy Graduation Ceremony
Carville and Hunt did not spare Biden’s Republican rivals either, unloading on what they called a ‘clown show’ of incompetence on Capitol Hill currently.
They seethed at Kristi Noem’s ignorance of basic constitutional principles, specifically her conflating habeas corpus with the authority to deport migrants.
Carville said: ‘Joe Biden may be old, but he knows what habeas corpus is. He could tell you right now. He was a really good president.
‘One of the better first-term presidents we’ve had. But that final decision… staying in the race too long… will damn him in the history books.’
