James Carville: Warren and Sanders don't seem like they're trying to win at this point

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Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., aren't actually trying to win the presidency in November, Democratic strategist James Carville argued on Wednesday.

Carville told "Morning Joe" that Tuesday's debate indicated Warren appeared to be more interested in bashing former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg than grabbing the party's nomination. She was also worried that by attacking Sanders -- a fellow progressive who's been leading in polls -- she might get primaried in 2024, Carville speculated.

FORMER TOP CLINTON STRATEGIST: WARREN IS 'BLOOMBERG SLAYING' ON BEHALF OF BERNIE SANDERS

"The takeaway is that Elizabeth Warren hates Michael Bloomberg more than she wants to win," he said.

He added that Warren's attacks on Bloomberg help her raise money and may have been intended to help her "stay alive" longer in the primary season.

Both Sanders and Warren have proposed banning fracking which, while a controversial practice, has provided substantial revenue to the U.S. economy. That proposal, Carville asserted, showed that Sanders couldn't win key swing states in the general election.

"Bernie Sanders says he's going to ban all fracking, so he's banning any chance of doing anything particularly in western and central Pennsylvania. Last time I checked, Florida is a key state, then you say something nice about Castro," he said, referring to Sanders' defense of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

"You're not trying to win the election. If you're not trying to win Pennsylvania, [and] you're not trying to win Florida, then maybe Arizona is the answer," he added. "But why would you do that? I mean, it doesn't make any sense -- you're not going to ban fracking. Castro is dead -- why are you even defending him? He's not trying to win, he's trying to make a point and that's what scares me."

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Carville's comments came after he and Sanders traded barbs over the senator's electability. Carville previously said that he agrees with Sanders' assessment of him as a "political hack," adding that he'd rather be a hack than a "communist" like the senator from Vermont.

"I am not an ideologue," Carville reportedly added. "I am not a purist. He thinks it's a pejorative. I kinda like it! At least I'm not a communist!"

The comments came after Carville denounced the party's move to the left ahead of the New Hampshire primary and likened Sanders' hardcore supporters to a "cult."