He argues for making Dobbs an issue. I would run against the Supreme Court as an institution as FDR did with his court-packing plan. The court-packing plan failed but FDR made the Court feel its vulnerability and it changed and gave FDR the rulings he needed.
"Keep Trump off guard".
"Don't let him get his footing."
"I just don't see Biden being a sufficient irritant out there."
I agree with all of those. Trump does not multi-task well. You need to hit him from many different angles at once. He will rise to the baits plural. I have urged this for eight years. You have to provoke Trump. I urged opposing candidates, Hillary Clinton, Republican opponents, Biden, to have counter rallies at the same time and place as Trump's rallies. Biden should be a one man guerilla movement, every day, campaigning, coming out with a new attack angle, coming at him from different directions all at the same time. Trump is considered to be the best counterpuncher ever in politics. But like everybody else he only has two fists. He can't resist counterpunching, it's his credo, right in his books, and you can make him arm-weary counterpunching.
"I actually think that, I'm really thinking hard about this but they should run against MAGA and not Trump." (21:58)
Who said that first oh that's right me.
Kristol: "Interesting."
"Because MAGA is less popular than Trump and Biden [can say, should say. unclear] 'You've been overtaken by this MAGA movement'.
James means taken over. The Republican Party has been taken over by MAGA, that is conventional wisdom. What James means here is not an institutional take over but an appeal to Republican voters: Make them understand that voting for Trump is not voting for the Republican candidate, it is voting for the MAGA candidate.
"Not all of [Trump voters] are MAGA, a lot of them have different reasons [for voting for Trump]. We need some of those people. If we can drive a stake between MAGA and them [Trump voters who are not MAGA], some would stay home because they're not comfortable with it [i.e. MAGA]. I think that's a potential, to tie him to the movement because the movement is 24% approval and he's at 42%. I think that's an opportunity and you've got to take opportunities at every point."
Taking opportunities at every point is saying in other words hitting Trump constantly from different angles, keeping him off guard, not letting him gain his footing, keep him counterpunching at multiple targets. He will grow arm weary. Man-to-man, a weekly attack, those are not going to keep him off guard. Don't give him a week to counterpunch.
James next says, his accent and his age (James is 79) make his points a little confusing, he seems to next say that when you advice Biden's people along these lines they respond,
"That's a great idea but we got to get him out there to say that and that's not the easiest thing in the world to do, and I don't understand that."
There could be two things that Carville is saying there. First, that the president is reluctant to go too hard on some things, like attacking MAGA voters. He had to be talked into mentioning "MAGA extremists." Biden has always seen himself as a consensus-builder, always in favor of reaching across the aisle. "This is the United State of America" was his stock phrase in 2020, emphasis on "united." Well, we're not anymore united now than in 2020--and Biden won in 2020. So Biden may be uncomfortable on that "philosophical" ground. The other thing that James may be saying though is the emphasis on "we got to get him out there", that is, campaigning. He is not campaigning in person, he didn't have to for months in 2020. And he may not be up to it physically. Carville could reasonably be saying either of those but not both, or both.
Kristol says he assumes Trump will back out of the debate, too! (23:45)
Kristol suggests that every day (that phrase again) the president, whatever policies he's talking about that day, should say, "Our policy is such-and-such" and I very much look forwarding to debating Trump on this on June 27. Carville agrees that that is a good idea. "At every point". "You've got to take opportunities at every point."
