A veteran political strategist for the Democrats in the US has voiced his outrage over what he sees as the creeping view in the party that Israel does not have a right to exist.
James Carville – also a political consultant, author, and television pundit – also said that those who took that position were creating an irrevocable “schism” in the party.
Speaking on the Political War Room podcast, which he co-hosts with revered American journalist Al Hunt, Carville said: “I am totally comfortable in a political party that spends time questioning the policies of the government of Israel. In fact, I'm enthusiastic about that.”
He then countered: “I don't want to be in a political party that denies the right of the state of Israel to exist. I just can't do that, I'm sorry, it's just not doable.”
Hunt replied: “They are a great gift to Donald Trump.”
Earlier in the conversation, Carville, who played an important role in Bill Clinton's winning 1992 presidential campaign, lamented the excessive media attention on the primary elections in New York.
“You wouldn’t know Jason Crow exists… you wouldn’t know Abigail Spanberger exists,” Carville said, referring to one of the party’s most important recruiters and the incumbent governor of Virginia respectively.
“The idea that we must neglect everything else that's going on, all of these other primaries, all the recruits Jason [Crow] has, all the huge, phenomenal successes we've had, and declare that the party is now under the control of a Democratic Socialist of New York City [NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani] is insane,” he said.
He continued: “But understand, these people do not like Democrats. Not only are they not Democrats, they wish Democrats poorly.”
Carville said that he believes that “it's time for Democrats to talk the s-word – schism”.
“I really do,” he emphasised. “And everybody's always said, ‘no, no, we're a coalition, we're a big tent’. And there's some, there's just some s*** that I can't be in the same camp with.”
He went on to explain that he believes the schism is between that of traditional Democrats and Democratic socialists.
“Maybe there's a way that you can say to – I guess Mamdani is the leader of it – is [that if] you try to insist that the people that run under your banner run as a Democratic Socialist and don't use the Democratic Party as your guideline, let's negotiate the terms of a schism here,” Carville said.
“Maybe we can part under some kind of advantageous terms for both of us,” he offered. “But I'm done. I'm not in that f****** political party.”
💥NEW: James Carville: “I actually do think it's time for Democrats to talk the S word: ‘Schism’ ... there's just some sh*t that I can't be in the same tent with ... I'm done ... I don't want to be in a political party that denies the right of the state of Israel to exist.” pic.twitter.com/O5ATLyvXwV
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) June 25, 2026
In the NYC primaries, left-wing candidates backed by the city’s mayor Zohran Mamdani have recorded a clean sweep in the state’s Democratic primaries, setting the stage for a heavily progressive congressional slate in November’s midterms.
Among them was Brad Lander, who is Jewish and who became the Democratic nominee for the 10th congressional district. He has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza.
Other winners were Darializa Avila Chevalier, an adult convert to Islam who joined controversial pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University; and Aber Kawas, who in 2017 described 9/11 as a “manifestation” of “the system of capitalism and racism and white supremacy… and Islamophobia”.
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