Two of the top political strategists behind Bill Clinton‘s winning 1992 presidential campaign, James Carville and Paul Begala, were asked by Dana Bash on CNN what President Joe Biden should do now to win the 2024 presidential election against presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump.
Carville said of Trump: “He’s clearly going mad. I would attack right now. I’d spend that money. I would jump all over him.” Carville added, “When your opponent is drowning, the first thing you do is hand him or her an anvil, and that’s what he needs right now. He’s drowning, give him an anvil.”
“He’s drowning, give him an anvil!” Brilliant political minds James Carville and Paul Begala explain in no uncertain terms how President Biden can beat Donald Trump. (Video: CNN) pic.twitter.com/pgdWduUvRa
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) March 18, 2024
Begala, who served as Counselor to the President in the Clinton White House, agreed with Carville noting that there are only 231 days left to campaign before Election Day. Begala congratulated the Democratic Party for raising record levels of money and, like Carville, says it’s time to put it to use. Especially since right now, Begala asserted, “the Republican party seems to be broke, and Mr. Trump seems to be broke.”
Begala then offered his own version of Carville’s anvil, suggesting that Biden needs to become more aggressive. “Attack, sir. Attack, attack. Stop bragging and start bashing,” Begala advised. “That’s what he needs to do.”
Note: In the 2006 book co-authored by Carville and Begala, Take It Back: Our Party, Our Country, Our Future, Begala wrote: “presidential campaign is like a film. It never comes together until it’s scored and tracked.”