Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville pushed back Wednesday on the idea that Democrats should attempt to re-court Elon Musk, dismissing the billionaire X owner as no longer “smart.”
Speaking on The Daily Beast Podcast with host Joanna Coles, Carville wrote off Musk’s past affiliation with the Democratic Party and questioned what value he would bring if welcomed back.
Coles raised the idea during a discussion about Musk’s political shift in recent years, something her prior guest, Anthony Scaramucci, lamented.
“A lot of people responded because he said he couldn’t believe the Democratic Party had ever let Elon Musk go,” Coles said.
She then asked, “Should they bring Elon Musk back? His platform X is pretty useful. He said he’s not going to put any more money into politics for the time being, but should the Democrats woo him back, or is he too damaged at this point?”
Carville replied, “Musk? No.”
Coles responded, “No, you think he’s done now.”
Carville fired back, “Well, I can’t imagine that after all of this, that he’d want – I mean, what does he bring? He’s – the guy is like, single-handed – look at the damage he’s done to the federal government, why do we want him?”
Coles replied, “Well, fair point. It’s just that he used to be a Democrat, then he
Carville concluded of Musk, “He used to be smart, and then he went crazy.”
Musk has said he used to vote with Democrats but in recent years has slammed the party as having pivoted too far to the left.
“In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party,” Musk wrote on X in 2022. “But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican.”
He said the statement would lead to Democrats launching a “dirty tricks campaign” against him.
Watch above via The Daily Beast Podcast.