'Wake the f*** up': James Carville sends Democrats stern warning about Biden's re-election chances against Trump

 Democratic strategist James Carville is warning the Democratic Party about President Joe Biden's re-election campaign.

Speaking with comedian Bill Maher on his podcast this week, Carville offered a blunt message for the Democratic Party about Biden's re-election chances: "Somebody better wake the f*** up." 

"Let's assume the election was Nov. 3 of this year and the candidates are Joe Biden, the Democrat, Donald Trump, the Republican, Joe Manchin and Larry Hogan, No Labels, and Cornel West. Trump would be a betting favorite," Carville said. "If I told you I would give you even money, you would not take that bet. All right?

"And so somebody better wake the f*** up," Carville warned.

Maher joked that he might consider taking an even-money bet on that proposition but told Carville, "You're right. I'm totally on the same page."

"In 2020, maybe [Biden] was the only one who could have beaten Trump. I think now he's the only one who will lose to him," Maher added. 

James Carville | Club Random with Bill Maheryoutu.be

The problem, Maher argued, is that "at some point, perception becomes reality," and for Biden that means Americans will believe the perception that Biden is too old for the job. 

"He cannot run for president. He'l look bad in the debates. It's just too much. And he's — I think, going to lose," Maher continued. "He will be Ruth Bader Biden, the Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the presidency. It's not a good look. And any 50-ish, not-stupid woke Democrat with a 'D' by their name — people just vote 'D' and 'R' — that person can win."

"Could win easily," Carville agreed. "If we had somebody under 60 and ran against Trump, we'd get 55%."

Donald Trump and Biden remain in a dead heat. Most surveys polling a hypothetical rematch show both candidates within the statistical margin of error; sometimes Biden has the advantage, while other times Trump does.

And while it's unwise to read too much into polling more than a year away from Election Day, the dead-heat results likely indicate that Biden is a weaker candidate than in 2020.

As CNN's data expert Harry Enten has explained, that is because Biden maintained a sizable lead over Trump in the polling ahead of that election. Therefore, the fact that Biden cannot pull away from Trump now indicates that Biden is weaker, Trump is stronger, and the race will be closer than in 2020 — if, indeed, it is a rematch.