Democratic strategist James Carville is urging his party to steer clear of pursuing a third impeachment of President Donald Trump even if Democrats take back the House in November, arguing the effort would almost certainly fail and would distract from more productive work.
Carville made the case Thursday on the “Politics War Room” podcast alongside co-host Al Hunt, saying Democrats should instead focus on investigations if they win a majority.
“I’ll tell you one thing that I think Democrats should steer clear of, and that’s impeachment,” Hunt said.
Hunt acknowledged he believes Trump has committed impeachable conduct — “far worse than what he was accused of back in 2019 with Ukraine,” he said, adding that a list of grievances could run to “a dozen at least.” But he argued pursuing impeachment anyway would be pointless.
“But you know something, James? It’s not going to happen, and it is a distraction,” Hunt said. “It is a waste of energy. Investigate, investigate, investigate. Don’t go on a mission that isn’t going to succeed.”
Carville agreed, contending that the Supreme Court has effectively shielded Trump from accountability for any wrongdoing uncovered.
“So, you investigate, and, of course, what you’re going to find — and you’re going to find it quickly — is overwhelming evidence of criminal activity. Now, of course, he can’t commit a crime according to the Supreme Court because, well, he’s above the law,” Carville said.
Even so, Carville said impeachment itself would be impractical given the numbers required in the Senate.
“Impeachment would be a very difficult thing,” Carville said. “It’s time-consuming. It’s highly unlikely to be anything because of the — you need so many votes in the Senate. But we’re going to find out a whole bunch of stuff really fast at the beginning of the year 2027. I promise you.”
Hunt pushed back slightly on the timeline but agreed with the broader strategy.
“I might quibble with ‘very fast’ because I think investigations got to be thorough. They got to be really — some of them are actually going to take a while,” Hunt said. “They’re going to build a case, but we’re going to find them out. You’re absolutely right about that. And I am only against impeachment because I think it’s not going to succeed and will be a distraction.”
Former Democratic advisor Dan Turrentine told Fox News Digital that Carville and Hunt are reading the political math correctly.
“Al and James are right. To paraphrase James, it’s a simple math issue, stupid. Unless something truly unimaginable [happens], there will not be 67 votes in the Senate to convict. And the public is not there, either,” Turrentine said. “If we win the majority, the voters that delivered it are clear, they want us laser focused on their lives, the issues they care about. We should conduct appropriate oversight and let history and 2028 be the accountability.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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