The Democratic strategist behind Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 presidential campaign said Wednesday that the FBI’s unannounced search of Donald Trump’s property was “the greatest story since” the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
‘Ragin’ Cajun’ James Carville predicted that the Mar-a-Lago raid would become a “very sensitive” issue for Republican lawmakers if the Justice Department investigation into Trump uncovers illegal acts.
“The problem with the Republican Party is that they have really stupid people voting in their primary,” Carville told The Hill TV. “Really stupid people demand really stupid leaders. That’s where the Republican Party is now.’
He predicted that if Trump committed a crime, Republican officials would have to strike a balance between distancing themselves from illegal acts and alienating Trump’s loyal base.
“If I were a Republican now, I don’t know what I would do,” Carville said.
Supporters of the former president have tried to paint the FBI operation as an assault by Trump’s Democratic rivals. The GOP has held on in the face of growing backlash over the rollback of abortion rights and a lack of gun control policies.
“We should win, but we’re not,” Carville said, Republicans would think. “I would just bang my head against the wall. At the top is the story of Mar-a-Lago, which is perhaps the greatest story since 9/11. It won’t go away.’
He noted that as often as Democrats are now forced to account for runaway inflation, Republicans are asked about Trump’s actions as their party’s de facto leader.
Bill Clinton’s top campaign strategist of 1992 shot both the right and left sides in an interview nearly two weeks after the FBI’s unprecedented raid on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home
Last week, the FBI conducted an unannounced search of Trump’s Florida mansion that was reportedly linked to top-secret documents being sought by the National Archives.
Carville pointed to how Republican dismissals of a simple filing dispute collide with reports claiming Trump illegally stole nuclear technology documents and is under investigation for violating the Espionage Act.
“Everyone understands, this is not a complicated crime,” the ex-Clinton adviser said of the reports. “If it’s an archival dispute, they will portray it as excessive harassment.”
He continued, “If this turns out to be material, which I suspect, every Republican is going to have to say, ‘Well, what did you say to that? That’s what you said. Do you still believe that, do you stand with Donald Trump?”‘
“They have to say they stand by Donald Trump because if they don’t, she loses a significant part of her base,” Carville said.
The veteran strategist cemented himself in political history by overseeing the successful campaign of then-Arkansas Governor Clinton.
Among his innovations was pioneering the concept of a “war room” dedicated to responding to Republican attacks, a practice almost common today.
He also coined the Clinton campaign’s famously simple phrase: “It’s the economy, fool.”
Carville predicted pro-Trump Republicans will be in a “difficult” position if the DOJ proves the ex-president committed a crime
He highlighted reports that Trump brought documents related to nuclear technology to his Florida mansion after leaving the White House
After decades of observing voter patterns and the changing political climate, Carville bemoaned The Hill on Wednesday about how the media equated the two parties.
He complained that Democrats were defined by their fringe minority, while Republicans were able to push fringe beliefs to the fore, such as downplaying the seriousness of the January 6 attack on the Capitol and linking it to widespread voter fraud believe.
“The media is addicted to ‘both sides’. “Well you have your freaks, they have their freaks, what the heck is the difference?” A lot,” said Carville.
The Democrats on the far left are “stupid,” he said, while adding that the Republicans on the far right are “evil.”
He shot at progressives like “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar, who narrowly won her feature race against a moderate challenger.
“The identity left doesn’t like Democratic voters. They don’t like James Clyburn or Joe Biden or Bill Clinton,” Carville said.
He also said that “defund the police” was the “three worst words of all time in the English language, maybe”.
“We tend to be defined by some overeducated, totally stupid coastal elite who are out there trying to write dictionaries or something that has nothing to do with anyone’s life. And that kind of stuff tends to be very sticky and stick with people,” Carville said.