James Carville pushed back after Fox host Kayleigh McEnany called Sen. John Fetterman the Democratic Party's "single smartest" member. On McEnany's Saturday program, Carville criticized the party's handling of the 2024 ticket and argued the lack of a contested primary was a mistake. He dismissed McEnany's praise of Fetterman and instead praised Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as a stronger voice. The exchange highlighted tensions within the Democratic Party over leadership and succession planning.
James Carville Rebukes Fox Host’s Claim That John Fetterman Is the Democrats’ "Smartest"
James Carville pushed back after Fox host Kayleigh McEnany called Sen. John Fetterman the Democratic Party's "single smartest" member. On McEnany's Saturday program, Carville criticized the party's handling of the 2024 ticket and argued the lack of a contested primary was a mistake. He dismissed McEnany's praise of Fetterman and instead praised Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as a stronger voice. The exchange highlighted tensions within the Democratic Party over leadership and succession planning.
08:56 AM, 11/16/2025Politics
James Carville Fires Back After Fox Host Praises John Fetterman
Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville pushed back sharply after Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany called Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) the "single smartest guy" in the Democratic Party. Carville appeared on McEnany's program on Saturday and used the interview to criticize his own party's approach to leadership and the 2024 succession discussion.
Carville lamented the party's failure to hold a meaningful, contested primary for the 2024 ticket and reiterated a suggestion he previously made in The New York Times: more public town halls to test candidates. "If you remember on July 7th in The New York Times, I said there should be four town halls and we just — the Harris people shut it down. She had no opportunity to show us what she could do," Carville said.
"If I name three people, two people are gonna call me and say you didn’t put it on the list. But there is a wealth of talent. Some of it is known. I mean, [Gavin] Newsom… the big mistake we made is not having a contested primary."
When McEnany praised Fetterman as a clear voice who "doesn’t hate" and suggested he might fit in the Republican "big tent," Carville dismissed the idea. "If John Fetterman is the smartest person in the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party is in really, really, really deep trouble. Really deep trouble!" he said, laughing.
Asked whom he respects from Pennsylvania, Carville pointed to Gov. Josh Shapiro. "If I want to listen to somebody from the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, I will listen to Gov. Josh Shapiro every day, seven days a week," he said.
The exchange underscored intraparty tensions over leadership, messaging and how Democrats handled the 2024 ticket process. A video of the segment is available on Fox News' website.