James Carville advises Democrats not to 'tell people how great this economy is'

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James Carville tells Democrats not to 'tell people how great this economy is’: 'Let them feel it'

Political strategist James Carville advised Democrats to stop telling people that the economy is good until their real-life experience matches that claim.

Democratic strategist James Carville said Wednesday that Democrats should stop telling voters that the economy is good and let them experience it for themselves. 

"[P]eople live in an economy and they feel it," Carville said Wednesday on CNN. "And we know from the Clinton years and we know from the Obama years that it takes a lot — you have to go pretty deep into a recovery where people are feeling it."

Carville said that Biden should "talk about things they've done to help families cope with cost-of-living increases, like the prescription drugs or releasing the strategic petroleum reserve or other things that they've done to clear up the supply chain." 

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Political strategist James Carville advised Democrats to stop telling people that the economy is good and let them experience it for themselves. (Getty Images)

"But it's hard — if you tell people they live in a good economy, and they don't think they do, they think you don't understand their lives," Carville continued, praising Biden for the infrastructure bill, which he called a "magnificent achievement." 

"I don't agree that they should go out and tell people how great this economy is," he said. "You've got to let people feel the economy and they can talk about measures that they've taken to help people deal, which obviously has been a cost of living increase for families across this country."

President Biden is having a difficult time competing with former President Trump on issues such as the economy and the border. Biden trails Trump, the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, by 23 points when voters were asked who would be a better candidate to handle the economy, according to the results of a new NBC News poll.

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Democratic strategist James Carville appears on CNN. (CNN screenshot)

Those numbers come despite Biden's recent argument that his administration's economic policies are starting to work, telling voters in Michigan last week that "inflation is coming down" and that they had "created 800,000 manufacturing jobs."

Despite that, 55% of registered voters said they believe Trump would be the better candidate to steer the economy, compared to 33% who chose Biden.

Trump also boasts large leads over Biden when it comes to securing the border (+35 points), having the necessary mental and physical health to be president (+23), on dealing with crime and violence (+21). The former president also has double-digit leads over Biden when it comes to being competitive and effective (+16) and on improving America's standing in the world (+11).

Fox News' Michael Lee contributed to this report. 

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