Democratic strategist James Carville believes Elon Musk’s missteps with the Department of Government Efficiency will ultimately be an incredible catalyst for the Democratic Party.
Carville told NewsNation’s “CUOMO” that the Tesla CEO will be “the greatest generator of Democratic turnout, ever, more than Barack Obama.”
“I understand the gravity of that statement, but if he keeps going, that’s going to happen,” he added.
Musk announced Saturday that civil servants will be asked to send an email explaining what they accomplished last week. Those who don’t comply could be fired, he said.
The message told federal employees to “please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullet points of what you accomplished last week,” copying their manager, by 11:59 p.m. ET Monday.
Backlash from civil servants culminated in a lawsuit against the tech billionaire and the Trump administration, with attorneys alleging in a lawsuit Monday that Musk violated the law with his latest demand.
Other top Trump picks, like FBI Director Kash Patel and National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, have advised their employees not to respond to Musk’s requests, showing potential rifts within the administration.
Carville recommended that the Democratic Party capitalize on these mishaps, calling for “tactical patience.”
“What I am suggesting to Democrats is, don’t have press conferences, don’t yell, don’t scream, don’t throw your hands in the air,” he explained.
Carville says White House will ‘collapse’ in 30 days
The strategist also doubled down on his earlier assertion that the White House would “collapse” within 30 days, citing upcoming fiscal deadlines that he doubts Republicans will be able to meet.
“Events are coming. The budget is coming,” said Carville, who previously served as former President Clinton’s senior adviser. “The resolution is coming, the debt ceiling is coming.”
“You can come up with every fake number you want, but you can’t fool a bond market that these people are not foolable,” he continued. “They’re not gonna believe any of that.”
The federal budget deadline is March 14, giving Congress just weeks to reach an agreement that would prevent a government shutdown.
NewsNation’s Libbey Dean, Ali Bradley, Jackie Koppell, Patrick Djordjevic and Kellie Meyer contributed to this report.
