The James Carville of 2024 got it wrong in his election prediction of a Kamala Harris victory. Had he listened to the James Carville of 1992, he might have gotten it right. "It was, it is, and it always will be the economy, stupid," the political consultant writes in a New York Times essay, reprising his famous dictum. Referring to himself and fellow Democrats, he adds, "We have to begin 2025 with that truth as our political North Star and not get distracted by anything else."
Carville writes that Donald Trump triumphed largely because he owned the "economic narrative"—he convinced middle-class and lower-income Americans that he would make things better. Democrats can reclaim that narrative by pushing a "bold" economic plan, including a $15 minimum wage, and forcing Republicans to go on record in opposition. They also should aggressively oppose Trump policies—tariffs, tax cuts for the wealthy, gutting the Affordable Care Act, etc.—that threaten to backfire on ordinary Americans. "We live or die by winning public perception of the economy," concludes Carville. "Thus it was, thus it is, and thus it forever shall be." Read the full essay. (More James Carville stories.)