A blunt warning over trans athletes from veteran Democratic strategist James Carville exposed internal party concerns over messaging on cultural and law enforcement issues. Speaking Thursday on the “Politics War Room” podcast, Carville urged Democrats to stop highlighting transgender athletes in women’s sports and to abandon slogans that voters broadly reject.
The trans athletes issue surfaced after a listener asked why Democrats failed to counter a 2024 Trump campaign ad portraying then–Vice President Harris supporting sex changes for inmates. Carville pointed to discipline and political realism. “We’re not as disciplined as they are, and I think that they know their crap is unpopular, so they got to be more disciplined in how they portray things,” he said.
Carville suggested the Supreme Court may soon rule on transgender athletes in women’s sports, reducing its political impact. “We didn’t get our messaging right on this whole thing,” he said. “I think that we have done, because of this flubbing it, we’ve actually done more harm to trans people than we would have wanted to.”
Co-host Al Hunt raised similar concerns about immigration rhetoric, warning against calls to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “You talk about ‘reforming ICE.’ You talk about ‘making ICE work,’” Hunt said, adding that Democrats should avoid language that signals open borders.
Carville reserved his sharpest criticism for anti-police rhetoric. He called “defund the police” the “three stupidest words in the history of the English language.” While acknowledging flaws within ICE, he said, “We need that,” and argued the real concern involves training and accountability.
