Democratic strategist James Carville warned that Democrats’ “giddy elation” over Vice President Harris’s presidential campaign won’t be “helpful much longer” as Republicans seek to regain lost ground after President Biden’s withdrawal from the race.
“They’re coming at us, and they’re gonna keep coming,” Carville said during an interview with MSNBC’s Ari Melber of the GOP attacks. “And this kind of giddy elation is not going to be very helpful much longer ‘cause that’s now what we’re gonna be faced with.”
Carville said the Biden-Harris change caught Republicans off guard and warned that the GOP will be on the offensive for the duration of the election cycle.
“Get ready, they’re coming,” he said, highlighted by Mediaite. “I understand that everybody should feel good and liberated and everything else, but if we don’t win the election, we haven’t done anything.”
Biden on Sunday suspended his reelection campaign and endorsed Harris, leading to a whirlwind week in politics. Within days, rejuvenated Democrats broke records donating to Harris’s campaign and memes online captivated younger voters.
Recent polling shows former President Trump narrowly leading Harris, who is the likely Democratic presidential nominee, in several battleground states. Harris and Trump are tied in Wisconsin. She is notably outpacing Biden in each of the swing states, compared to previous polling.
The Harris campaign hit the ground running this week, racking up donations and followers online. The campaign released its first video Thursday, focused on rights and freedom. Set to Beyoncé’s song “Freedom,” Harris asked viewers what kind of country they want to live in.
Former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama on Friday endorsed Harris in a highly anticipated announcement.
“All I’m doing is saying, watch out people. Don’t get too far out there,” Carville said on MSNBC. “If we don’t win this, all this good feeling is gonna evaporate and gonna be all for naught.”