Former Bill Clinton strategist James Carville fears there’s no coming back from systemic corruption in government.
The Ragin’ Cajun spoke on Politicon’s Politics War Room on Thursday with historian Joseph Ellis, when he revealed that he regretted his famous phrase: “It’s the economy, stupid.”
He fears that his 1992 adage has opened the door to the idea that, as long as the economy is in good health, voters won’t care what else their leader is up to.
“It’s maybe one of the most oft-repeated things in politics,” Carville said. “I now have come to detest the fact I said that. I’ll tell you why. I’ll tell you why.
“OK. I listen to people who say people don’t care about corruption. They care about the economy. As long as their income’s up, they really don’t care what he does. And I’m afraid that’s right, but when I said it in 1992, you can say what you want about George H.W. Bush. He was not corrupt.
“The corruption that we have now. The breathtaking, staggering... the phrase actually haunts me today.”
He agreed with Ellis that the coming election would be driven by economic considerations, but suggested that’s where the problem lies.
“I agree. And it pains me,” he said. “We, we can get over high egg prices or high gas prices. Or we can get over a lot of interest rates. You can’t get over state systemic endemic persuasive corruption. That, that’s really, that’s everything. And bounce back from s--t. This is a troubling time.”
Donald Trump has not been formally accused of corruption, but has raised eyebrows with his style of governance, which has seen him favor loyalists and lackeys over experts.
His return to the White House has also seen his and his family’s wealth balloon.
The president released his mandatory financial report this week, revealing that he earned over $1 billion through cryptocurrency in his first year back in office.
In total, his wealth rose by $2.2 billion last year, dwarfing his 2024 earnings of $600 million.
When Trump was asked by reporters on Wednesday what had caused the surge, he said, “You know why I’m profiting, because the stock market’s going up, everybody’s profiting.
“I don’t get involved in my personal [finances]. We have funds that run my money. I’ve made a lot of money before I became president, and they invest my money, and I don’t talk to them.”
“Neither the president nor his family has ever engaged—or will ever engage—in conflicts of interest,” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told the BBC.
“All actions by President Trump and his administration are taken in the best interest of the American people—and any so-called ‘reporters’ pushing otherwise are recycling the same, tired, false narrative that Democrats and the legacy media have been pushing for a decade.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
