Carville to MSNBC: Warren ‘hates Bloomberg more than she wants to win’

Democratic strategist James Carville on Wednesday argued that presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) “hates Michael Bloomberg more than she wants to win,” adding that Warren won’t attack front-runner Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) out of fear of being primaried in 2024.

The former campaign strategist for former President Clinton made the comments during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” following Tuesday night’s chaotic debate in South Carolina that saw Sanders take fire from most of the other Democrats on the stage, with the exception of Warren.

“The takeaway is Elizabeth Warren hates Michael Bloomberg more than she wants to win,” Carville said. “I think she doesn’t want to attack Bernie because she’s scared she’ll get primaried in 2024. Her attacks on Bloomberg probably help her raise money, maybe she just genuinely dislikes him, but it wasn’t her intention to get her any more votes. It was maybe to stay alive a little bit longer.”

Warren is currently in fourth place in the RealClearPolitics national index of polls with 12.4 percent support, two points behind former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Warren is faring a little worse in the South Carolina race, polling in fourth place with 8.8 percent of the vote. Former Vice President Joe Biden leads in the RealClearPolitics South Carolina average of polls with 31.4 percent ahead of this weekend’s primary. Sanders is in second in the Palmetto State with 20.6 percent of the vote.

Bloomberg is not on the ballot in South Carolina.

James Carville: “Elizabeth Warren hates Michael Bloomberg more than she wants to win.” pic.twitter.com/INiabOaX3E

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 26, 2020

Carville has been highly critical of a possible Sanders general election contest against President Trump in recent weeks, saying earlier this month it will be the “end of days” for the Democratic Party if Sanders wins the nomination while calling the Vermont senator “a communist.” 

Sanders has responded by calling Carville “a hack.”

“Bernie Sanders called me a political hack,” Carville previously said in response. “That’s exactly who the f— I am! I am a political hack! I am not an ideologue. I am not a purist. He thinks it’s a pejorative. I kind of like it! At least I’m not a communist.”