Politics

Carville Makes Shock Prediction on Trump’s Future

HIS DAYS ARE NUMBERED

The veteran politico believes the president would exploit a shady trick to save his own skin.

Democratic strategist James Carville shared a bold forecast for how things will shake out if President Donald Trump resigns from office.

Appearing on The Daily Beast Podcast, the former Bill Clinton aide reiterated his prediction that Trump, 80, will quit in disgrace if Republicans lose big in November.

“I think he’s gonna get up and walk out of it,” Carville, 81, told host Joanna Coles. “He’s going to lose so decisively in November.”

“His power is going to just seep right out. No one’s going to even care,” he continued. “People really don’t care what he says anymore.”

January 7, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; James Carville, political consultant and Tulane faculty member, listens to the Alma Mater after the Tulane Green Wave hosted the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles at Fogelman Arena.  Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Carville doesn't think Trump will serve his full term. Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

However, it’s what the veteran politico says he’ll do next that’s even more shameful.

“It’s easy. He calls in JD Vance, and he says, ‘JD, I’ve decided I’m going to resign, I’m going to go back. You’re going to be the president, but your first act, that I have right here, as soon as you’re sworn in, you’re going to sign a pardon—pardon me for everything imaginable,’” Carville said.

U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials attend the funeral service for late U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) at Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 28, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
The Democratic strategist thinks Trump would resign and ask Vance to bail him out with a pardon. Evelyn Hockstein/REUTERS

“Because he can’t take the risk,” he continued. “There is some doubt as to the legality of a self-pardon. There’s some doubt. He has to eradicate that doubt.”

Vance, the politico explained, would absolutely hold pardon authority if Trump were to resign and he were to become president. But even if his prediction were wrong and Trump served the entirety of his four-year term, Carville said that the president “would still resign two days before to be sure he got the pardon, and it was done.”

The White House is considering a plan for President Donald Trump, pictured May 12, to issue 250 pardons to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence, according to the WSJ.
Trump would likely face prosecution without the protection of a presidential pardon. Kevin Dietsch/Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

“That guy’s not gonna take any chance with this at all,” he added. “And... to believe the contrary is just to be an idiot.”

The White House did not immediately return the Daily Beast’s request for comment.

Regarding the behaviors Trump would be wise to pardon himself for, Carville highlighted the president’s vanity project fundraising scheme with his “princess of darkness” Meredith O’Rourke, as reported by the Wall Street Journal last week, as a prime example.

Trump Campaign Finance Director Meredith O’Rourke and American political consultant, Chris LaCivita, take pictures of U.S. President Donald Trump as he arrives on Marine One at Joint Base Andrews, in Maryland U.S., August 1, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno
O'Rourke, Trump's donor-whisperer, is seldom far from his side. Ken Cedeno/REUTERS

The Journal reported that Trump calls O’Rourke, a longtime Florida fundraiser, every night to see how much money she has generated for his pet projects, including his tacky White House ballroom-bunker and his July Fourth celebrations.

Donors, who include both companies and wealthy individuals, are asked to donate anywhere between $5 million and $50 million towards Trump’s agenda. “The boss wants this money,” O’Rourke is understood to have said, in reference to Trump.

Many of these donors would go on to benefit from the White House’s regulatory decisions, according to the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper.

“What is more unethical than being President of the United States and charging people for an official deed?” Carville asked. “It’s right there. You pay if you want to play. You pay.”

New episodes of The Daily Beast Podcast are released every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday on YouTube, and on other podcast platforms the next morning. Follow our new feed on your favorite podcast platform at beast.pub/dailybeastpod and subscribe on YouTube to watch full episodes.