Longtime Democratic strategist James Carville blamed the party’s polling problems on “too many preachy females” and compared looking at President Biden’s remarkably low approval ratings to “walking in on your grandma naked.”
“You can’t get the image out of your mind,” Carville, 79, told The New York Times’ Maureen Dowd.
The outspoken political consultant, who rose to national prominence leading President Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 presidential campaign, is back on the trail raising money for Democrats as well as working on a documentary.
Biden’s approval rating sits at an lowly 37% even after his highly touted State of the Union address.
Carville, a southerner never known to mince words, thinks that Democrats’ “feminine” focus on “woke stuff is killing us” — and could cost the party the election.
He’s most concerned about Biden appearing to lose support of black voters, who form one of his strongest bases.
“A suspicion of mine is that there are too many preachy females” dominating the Democrats’ culture and message, he told The Times in New Orleans. “‘Don’t drink beer. Don’t watch football. Don’t eat hamburgers. This is not good for you.’ The message is too feminine: ‘Everything you’re doing is destroying the planet. You’ve got to eat your peas.’
“If you listen to Democratic elites — NPR is my go-to place for that — the whole talk is about how women, and women of color, are going to decide this election,” he continued. “I’m like: ‘Well, 48 percent of the people that vote are males. Do you mind if they have some consideration?’”
Carville disagrees with party members who think there has been too much emphasis on Biden’s age, noting it’s the first thing most voters say about the 81-year-old incumbent.
“Now don’t tell me that Biden has more energy or cognition than Trump because it’s evident that, yeah, Trump’s got word salads, but he projects energy,” Carville said — also calling Trump “insane” and a “criminal.”
Biden’s decision to run for reelection also keeps younger, talented party members in his shadow.
While he’s unsure of how the race will play out for Biden, Carville is still gunning for him.
“He’s a tenacious guy that’s had a real life. He’s a state school guy. He doesn’t have an iota of elitism. He doesn’t even know what ‘woke’ is,” he said.
When asked how Biden can change the narrative around his campaign, Carville said with a shrug: “I don’t think he can do much more than soldier on and let the Democratic groups kick in.”
