Democratic strategist James Carville criticized Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman on Thursday for clashing with fellow Democrats, including himself, and pursuing a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump in a bid to garner “publicity.”
Fetterman told Carville to “shut the fuck up” in December 2023 for raising concerns regarding President Joe Biden’s reelection chances due to the president’s poor polling. In response to a listener question on his “Politics War Room” podcast about Fetterman’s political strategy, Carville acknowledged he was offended by Fetterman’s comments at the time, but suggested the senator’s actions stem from a desperation for “attention” following his 2022 stroke.
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“[Fetterman] told me to shut the fuck up. And at the time, I took mild offense at it. I no longer take offense. I honestly think the guy’s had a major health issue in his life and I think he just wants to get his name in the paper,” Carville said. “And you know, he was the most progressive person. He was a Bernie bro, then he was this, and now he wants to meet with Trump. And he’s fighting with me, fights with the governor.”
The Democratic strategist warned Fetterman in August that he would “deal with” him following the November election after the senator allegedly undermined Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro by lobbying against him to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate.
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“No idea what his current state of his health is, but I think he’s like, ‘I’m just going to do everything I can to get as much publicity I can and run this thing as hard as I can until my term’s up in 2026.’ That’s what I think,” Carville added on Thursday. “I think the guy’s like — he’s just desperate to get attention.”
Co-host Al Hunt corrected Carville that Fetterman’s term does not end in 2026, saying he will be up for reelection in 2028.
“It’ll be very few times where his vote is decisive,” Hunt added. “But what he does is he’ll give the Republicans a patina of bipartisanship on some things, and he’ll just be a — he’ll be a nuisance.”
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“If he gets his name in the paper or gets on the news of whatever — that’s, I think, that’s his short, immediate and long-term goal,” Carville responded.
Fetterman recently became the first sitting Democratic senator known to have accepted an invitation from Trump to meet with the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago since the November election. He said on Wednesday that the meeting “was a positive experience,” echoing Trump’s comments.
Fetterman’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.