James Carville is expressing serious outrage following reports that President Donald Trump plans to accept a $400 million airplane from Qatar, but believes the scandal could become an effective rallying cry for an embattled Democratic Party to win back voters.
The longtime strategist appeared Tuesday on NewsNation and urged fellow Democrats to seize on a “corruption” narrative, as Trump would violate the U.S. Constitution by accepting the gift from a foreign government without approval from Congress, and certainly made his case to host Chris Cuomo.
“He’s taking a $400 million jet for lifetime use from a foreign government,” said Carville. “He’s selling places at a White House dinner for people that buy his memecoin, which goes right into his pocket. And that’s what the tragedy is, that’s what the Democrats need to do.”
“They need to jump on this corruption and never get off of it,” he continued.
The Democratic Party certainly appears to be listening, as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday that he’s put a “hold” on all presidential nominees to the Justice Department in response to Trump’s plan to accept the Air Force One replacement.
Schumer called the supposed gift “naked corruption,” a sentiment previously voiced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Even some Republicans, including far-right GOP influencer Laura Loomer, have reacted unfavorably to Trump’s willingness to accept the Qatari gift.
Carville believes this is the exact right moment for Democrats to pounce, as the GOP also unveiled potential Medicaid cuts on Sunday with drafted legislation, which Trump promised would be a “big, beautiful bill,” that could leave more than 8 million people without health insurance.
“This is why, while he’s having dinner at the White House, rewarding people who are giving him money, taking airplanes, knocking 8.6 million people off of health insurance — if the Democrats can’t message against that, they oughta just blow themselves up,” said Carville.
“But I think they can,” he continued.
Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press
Trump suggested on social media Sunday that it would be foolish to decline the “FREE OF CHARGE” gift.
While Trump would violate the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the Constitution by accepting the gift without congressional approval and potentially hand another nation undue influence over a U.S. official (himself), Cuomo argued the “corruption road” is what lost Democrats the election.
The former CNN host argued that voters have had enough of regularly hearing about how crooked Trump might be.
Carville — who regularly covers the subject on his podcast — said Tuesday that he’d “never get off the corruption road.”
“And it’s not gonna stop … every day, we’re going to find out more and more and more,” he continued. “That’s what I really believe.”
