Democratic political strategist James Carville reiterated previous criticism of Ilhan Omar during a recent podcast appearance, again suggesting the progressive lawmaker should consider leaving the Democratic Party.
Carville made the remarks during an interview on Straight Shooter, hosted by Stephen A. Smith. Smith asked Carville about comments he made in May 2025 on his podcast, Politics War Room, in which he sharply criticized Omar, a member of the progressive group of lawmakers often referred to as “the Squad.”
His comments reflect ongoing divisions among Democrats over the party’s ideological direction and the influence of progressive lawmakers in Congress.
“Lady, why don’t you just get out of the Democratic Party,” Carville said about Omar. “Honestly, start your own movement.”
His initial calls for Omar to leave the party were in response to a 2018 interview she gave to Middle East outlet Al Jazeera. Omar, who is married to a white man, falsely said “our country should be more fearful of white men because they’re causing most of the deaths within this country.”
According to 2023 FBI and Justice Department crime statistics, while whites commit the most murders in terms of raw numbers, black males are six times more likely to victimize other blacks.
Carville stated that Omar was a “very, attractive, soft-spoken lady,” he didn’t agree on her attacks on white men, explicitly calling her to “stop.”
“About 33% of the people that are gonna vote are gonna be white males,” Carville said. “Well, it’s stupid to attack 33% of the voters!”
“And so what I would say to Congresswoman Omar, ‘Why don’t you be a Democratic Socialist of America?’ Do what AOC did, and then if they win, the truth of that is, I share a lot of ideological issues in common with Congressman Omar, but maybe you should do like a parliamentary government. We’ll let you in the governing coalition, but not the electoral coalition,” Carville said.
“But we cannot- we have to get this mentality out that we can win national elections [without] White people, because you can’t,” Carville continued. “That we can somehow or another win an election without white males. It’s just insanity. It’s literally mathematical insanity, cultural insanity.”
