Former Bill Clinton strategist James Carville has slammed the Democrats as “ludicrous” for refusing to debate whether President Joe Biden is the party’s best candidate for the 2024 election.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Carville said that Democrats should be looking at other potential candidates.
According to the Post, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) is expected to announce his plan to challenge Biden in New Hampshire on Friday.
Phillips argues that the Democratic Party should offer an alternative to Biden as the president continues to show record-low poll numbers, which the Post called “historically alarming.”
“The idea that this should not be aired out and should be discussed in hushed tones is ludicrous,” Carville said of Biden.
“This needs to be discussed.”
Concerns about Biden’s age and poor polling with fellow Democrats have dominated Washington circles in recent months.
However, Biden has thus far not faced serious opposition to being nominated for a second time.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was Biden’s strongest threat in the Democrat primary.
However, Kennedy recently dropped out of a bid for the Democrat nomination and announced he would run for president as an independent.
Nevertheless, other Democrat strategists have noted that a challenge from Phillips was unlikely to affect the president’s path to securing the nomination.
Political director and senior adviser to Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) presidential campaign Rebecca Pearcey told the outlet that the Biden-Harris campaign did not need to worry about Phillips.
“We all know how old Biden is,” she said.
“I don’t think a 2.5-term congressman who is probably not actually known outside his district is the challenge that Biden would need in order to close this nomination.”
In September, Carville told The New York Times that it was clear voters did not want Biden to run for re-election.
“The voters don’t want this, and that’s in poll after poll after poll,” he said.
Worrying these fears could lower voter turnout, he conceded, “You can’t look at what you look at and not feel some apprehension here.”
During an interview with CNN in September, Carville said Biden’s numbers were “troubling.”
A CNN poll found that 49% of those surveyed flagged Biden’s “age” as their biggest concern about Biden as a presidential candidate.
Another 7% said that Biden’s “mental sharpness” was a concern, while 7% said “health,” and another 7% said that Biden’s ability to do the job was a cause for concern.
“Well, I guess, to say the least, the polls were not great,” Carville said when asked about the poll numbers.
“And it tells us that voters are expressing some apprehension here. It’s pretty clear. There’s not much else you can say when you look at them.”
Recent polls have shown Biden and former President Trump are neck-and-neck in a hypothetical rematch.
A poll released in October found that most Americans believe the president acted illegally or unethically in how he has handled the controversial business dealings of his son, Hunter.
