James Carville, the longtime Democratic strategist known as the “Ragin’ Cajun,” said in an interview published Saturday that he does not think President Biden will be on the ticket come Election Day. But hours after the story was published, the Biden campaign sent a fundraising message invoking his name.
“Hi, it’s James Carville. I need you and Democrats everywhere to make a contribution to the Biden-Harris campaign ASAP. Help them defeat Donald Trump,” the text said.
Carville told The Post that he “never signed off on that.”
Hours before the campaign text was sent, Carville was quoted in an Axios story examining who would play a role in influencing whether Biden would step aside in the wake of his halting presidential debate performance.
Carville, who was the lead strategist for Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, told the outlet he thinks Biden will no longer be in the running by the time Election Day comes around, paraphrasing a famous quote by the late economist Herb Stein, saying, “That which can’t continue … won’t.”
Lauren Hitt, a Biden campaign spokesperson, said in a statement that Carville’s team “signed off on a robust fundraising package for our campaign including today’s message, and we’re grateful for everything he does to ensure that Joe Biden is re-elected to a second term.”
But Carville told The Post that he checked with his team, and they had no knowledge of it. The fundraising text, he said, “didn’t bother me as much as the debate.”
“Of all the glitches they made, I guess this is pretty minor,” he said. But he added: “It’s kind of weird to see your name go out to half a million people.”
Later Saturday night, the Biden campaign provided an email showing a representative for Carville approved the fundraising missives earlier this month.
Still, Carville said he would vote for Biden if he’s still running against former president Donald Trump on Election Day.
Since Thursday night, the Biden campaign’s fundraising texts have focused on the president’s debate performance — mirroring language Biden used onstage and asking supporters to chip in “to defeat Trump again.”
A text on Friday also invoked rhetoric Biden used that day at a rally in Raleigh, N.C., acknowledging his debate performance the previous night.
“I know I’m not a young man. I don’t walk as easily as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to,” the text said. “I also know how to tell the truth … I know how to get things done.”
Since the debate, Biden has been on a fundraising swing.
After his rally in Raleigh on Friday, Biden traveled to New York and participated in a fundraiser in Manhattan with stars such as Billy Porter and Elton John. His Saturday schedule includes two campaign receptions in East Hampton and another in New Jersey.