Once mega-powerful democratic advisor James Carville told donors to apply pressure on down-ballot candidates if they want to force Biden out of the race.
Per newspaper Semafor, Carville told top democratic donors on a Tuesday conference call that they should channel their worries about Biden’s age and refusal to drop out into the candidates that propped him up.
“Seventy-two percent of people want something different,” Carville, who worked on the failing campaigns of John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and Michael Bennet, said on the call. “Why not give it to them?”
When asked what donors could do to push for a change, the former Clinton aide told donors that they could push down-ballot candidates with their money.
“What I would say is, if we don’t do something about this, I’m going to put you on call block on my cell phone,” Carville reportedly said.
While a mere handful of democratic congresspeople and lawmakers nationally have called on Biden to exit the race, pressure is mounting from the donor class and some media outlets, including the New York Times editorial board.
Carville’s comment, said on the call to democratic advisors Paul Begal and Dmitri Mehlhorn, comes as top democratic party bosses and pundits try to push the 81-year-old president out of the race.
Melhorn, a staunch supporter of the Biden administration, pushed back on Carville during the call, per Semafor.
“Kamala Harris is more threatening to those swing voters than a dead Joe Biden . . . if Joe has to go, it’s gonna be Kamala. And if it’s Kamala, it’s gonna be harder,” Melhorn said.
Carville, who earlier this week claimed the Biden campaign used his name without permission in a fundraising text, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday that Biden should leave the race.
