Carville Says Two Reasons Explain Trump’s Pre-Election Behavior

David Dee Delgado / Getty Images for The New York Times Veteran political strategist James Carville has suggested only two logical reasons for the president’s increasingly erratic behavior heading into the midterm elections in November.

Speaking on the Politics War Room podcast, Carville’s co-host, Al Hunt, slammed President Donald Trump as “out of control,” pointing directly to his rambling chatter about Iran bombing Los Angeles and San Diego, false inflation claims, and his habit of labeling Democrats “dumb sons of b----es.” That unhinged spiral prompted Carville to question whether the Trump administration is orchestrating its own downfall.

“Is Trump trying to lose? I mean, there’s nothing that he does that’s consistent with trying to win,” he said.

Carville emphasized that Trump remains “the central issue in the campaign” and “dominates everything,” but admitted he is baffled by the president’s political instincts.

“Does he just want to screw the congressional Republicans? Does he hate ’em? I don’t know,” Carville continued.

Carville, nicknamed the Ragin’ Cajun during his early career as political operative, then offered an even harsher assessment of the commander-in-chief’s mental fitness.

“It might be that he’s just out of his god---n mind,” Carville posited.

“Who knows? But he is a man of real grievances, and this behavior, the only thing that could really explain it is that he’s clinically insane, or he wants the Republicans to lose.

I don’t think there’s any other explanation for it.” Hunt confessed he was “hard pressed” to devise a third option, while warning that the White House could attempt to disrupt the electoral process.

The warning follows Carville’s declaration on his podcast last month that the 80-year-old president is visibly “deteriorating.” “The guy doesn’t want to do the job anymore.

He’s just on autopilot,” Carville noted, adding: “He is not right right now.

He’s deteriorating.

He doesn’t like the job.

He’s obviously getting bored with it.” The Democrat capped off his assessment by declaring: “I think the man is in his final convulsions.” Reached for comment, the White House refused to engage with the substance of Carville’s psychological review, opting instead for a schoolyard taunt.