Democratic strategist James Carville went on Fox News and described the Republican Party as a cult during a discussion about how the two parties operate. The comments came while he was a guest on the Monday broadcast of Jesse Watters Primetime. Much of the exchange focused on a recent endorsement decision in a Michigan contest.
Carville took issue with Rep. Haley Stevens, the Democrat representing Michigan, after she backed Republican Mike Rogers rather than Democrat Abdul El-Sayed. Stevens had supported El-Sayed once she lost the August Democratic primary to him. On Sunday, she reversed that stance and endorsed Rogers.
El-Sayed’s campaign had asked Stevens not to show up at any of his events ahead of Tuesday’s election, and that request preceded her switch. Stevens has pressed El-Sayed to separate himself from a campaign advertisement he did not produce. She has also urged him to pull down an ad in which Tucker Carlson criticizes Rogers, and she has labeled Carlson a “white Christian nationalist.”
Debate turns to endorsement switch and earlier Biden warnings
Host Jesse Watters raised what he saw as inconsistency among Democrats on the subject of President Joe Biden. According to Mediaite, Watters said, “A lot of people should have stood up when Joe Biden was falling apart, but they didn’t.” He went on, “And you wish that had happened, but it didn’t happen. Can’t you give her credit for at least standing up and not just soldering off while the coalition goes off a cliff?”
Carville answered by pointing to his own record on the issue. He said, “First of all, this is James Carville. I was saying as early as September of 2023 that I loved President Biden, but I didn’t think he should run.” Watters told him, “So you should respect Stevens for that. For raising the alarm, you should respect her.”
Carville then brought up a published report about Stevens and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. The report said Stevens was displeased that she had not received an invitation to a rally in Pontiac, Michigan, that featured the New York representative.
It also noted that Ocasio-Cortez had not replied to a 2025 text message from Stevens. Over the weekend, Ocasio-Cortez reportedly reached out to Stevens to persuade her to support El-Sayed.
Carville made clear he held no respect for Stevens on those grounds. He said, “I don’t respect her for whining about an unreturned text or an invite to a rally in Pontiac, Michigan. I don’t respect her, because he knew everything about El-Sayed when she was running and said she would back the nominee of the party. And now, all of a sudden, she doesn’t. I do not respect her.”
He followed that with a broader comparison of the parties. Carville said, “There’s always tension in a coalition. The Republican Party is a cult. There’s never a tension in a personality cult. There’s always a tension in a coalition.” Carville has also ripped into left-wing candidates, prompting a response from Bernie Sanders. Watters responded with sarcasm. He said, “Ok, we’re a cult, James. We’re a cult.”
Published: Nov 3, 2026 02:00 pm