The Trump Effect Flummoxes Democrats as James Carville Urges His Party To ‘Play Possum’

Democrat strategist James Carville advises his party to simply wait for President Trump to fail: “I’m telling the Democrats, just sit there, play possum. Let them go, let them go, let them go. Poll numbers have declined, and the collapse is already underway. … Just let the ball come to you. We don’t need to be aggressive now.”Mr. Carville may have to wait a bit longer. The February 2025 Harvard CAPS/Harris poll registered a Trump approval rating of 52 percent, far higher than Mr. Trump’s approval at this time in his first term. Mr. Trump, as a politician, has never been more popular.Of the 11 Trump policies the poll asked Americans about, only one failed to draw majority support. Just 39 percent approved of Mr. Trump renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Other than that, Americans, at least for now, support Mr. Trump’s ambitious agenda: 81 percent support deporting illegal aliens “who are here illegally and have committed crimes.” Plus, 76 percent agree with Mr. Trump’s effort to eliminate government fraud and waste; 76 percent support Mr. Trump’s goal of closing the border; 70 percent agree that hiring should be based on merit; 61 percent say tariffs should be reciprocal; and 60 percent have a positive opinion of DOGE.About Mr. Trump’s executive order banning biological men from competing against women, a New York Times/Ipsos survey found 79 percent agree with Mr. Trump. Even the majority of Democrats back the president, with 67 percent saying transgender athletes should not compete against women.What about “climate change”? President Biden called it “an existential threat.” Mr. Trump, for the second time, pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement. Yet among young Americans aged 18 to 34, the group most concerned about the issue, their attitude is shifting. According to an April 2024 Monmouth University poll, half considers it a very serious problem. This is down 17 points from three years ago.What about the polling after Mr. Trump’s televised Oval Office clash with President Zelensky? Mr. Trump is facing a storm of criticism from Democrats, European leaders, and some Republicans. Yet CNN data specialist Harry Enten said: “… Do Americans like the way that Trump is handling his job in comparison to how they felt about Joe Biden? … You look at Joe Biden back in 2024, he was 22 points under water, holy cow.” Mr. Enten added: “You look at Donald Trump, it’s just a different planet entirely, I mean, the gulf between these two is wider between the Gulf of America and the Gulf of Mexico depending on what side of the aisle we stand on. (Trump) is at +2. So look, at this particular point, Americans are giving Donald Trump the benefit of the doubt, he’s doing considerably better than Joe Biden was doing on handling the Russia-Ukraine conflict.”More Trump effect? Military recruitment is up, as Mr. Trump might say, bigly. The Army broke records by enlisting 5,877 recruits in December 2024. Secretary of Defense Hegseth called this “their most productive December in 15 years.”Marine veteran and author John Waters told the National Review: “It starts with the president and the secretary of defense, and it flows right down through your unit commander. How you feel about that person and how your family feels about the person absolutely reflects in military recruitment, in belief in the military cause.”As for Mr. Carville’s recommended strategy, Senator Sanders strongly disagrees. “In fact,” Mr. Sanders said, “the problem is the Democrats have been playing dead for too many years.”Okay, then, what’s the Democrats’ plan? Root against Mr. Trump, despite the popularity of his America First agenda? Hope that inflation stays high? Wait for Americans to turn against rooting out government waste, fraud, and abuse? Hope that Americans continue supporting Ukraine in the costly and deadly war against Russia, a war with no end in sight? Attack Republicans for supporting an extension of tax cuts “that only benefit the rich”? Denounce Elon Musk? Continue calling Mr. Trump a dictator?Even in deep-blue California, things look cloudy for Democrats. A Capitol Weekly poll published early February asked California voters, “Do you think the Democratic Party has shown an ability to present an effective case against the Trump administration?” Seventy-nine percent said no.Mr. Carville’s possum strategy may take some time.Creators.com

The Trump Effect Flummoxes Democrats as James Carville Urges His Party To ‘Play Possum’

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