In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Democratic strategist James Carville expressed concern about President Joe Biden's poll ratings.
The longtime Democrat campaign strategist called the figures "troubling" and a "clear expression of voter apprehension," as Fox News reported.
According to the CNN poll, nearly half of respondents named Biden's "age" as their main reservation about him running for president.
Another 7% expressed worry about Biden's "mental sharpness," while another 7% voiced health concerns, and another 7% voiced doubts about Biden's competence on the job.
Carville's Comments
"Well, I guess, to say the least, the polls were not great," Carville said when asked about the concern around Biden’s age in a recent CNN poll.
"And it tells us that voters are expressing some apprehension here. It’s pretty clear. There’s not much else you can say when you look at them. You can't look at this and not say that you're concerned," Carville continued. "For me to come on television and say I don't find this alarming or troubling at all, it'd be stupid of me."
"I'm sure the White House knows this, by the way. They don't need to be told that the president has an age problem," he said.
More Polling Details
Biden, at age 80, is the oldest president in U.S. history. If Biden is re-elected, he will be 86 years old when his second term concludes.
Seventy-seven percent of respondents to an Associated Press-NORC survey agreed that Biden is too elderly to serve a second term as president. Not surprisingly, 89% of Republicans said as much, but 69% of Democrats agreed with them, too.
While it is clear that Democrats should be concerned, White House officials are aware of the concerns raised by Biden's age, according to James Carville, the famous strategist behind Bill Clinton's victorious 1992 campaign.
Carville also referenced Democratic adviser Jim Messina's earlier comments where he called Democrats who are concerned about Biden's chances "bedwetters."
"Historically, we’re [expletive] bedwetters," Messina told Politico. "We grew up in the '80s and '90s when Republicans won elections all the time. Democrats had their hearts deeply broken when Hillary [Clinton] lost [to Donald Trump in 2016] and people didn’t see that coming. And so, you know, we continually believe every bad thing people say."
"My friend Jim Messina said Democrats need to quit bedwetting, but my wife’s already changed me to rubber sheets," Carville said, laughing.
