Democratic strategist James Carville didn’t mince words this week when he warned that President Donald Trump may go to extreme lengths to prevent Democrats from regaining control of Congress — even suggesting Trump might attempt to cancel the 2026 midterm elections altogether.
Carville, known for his blunt political commentary, joined CNN’s Jim Acosta Show on Tuesday, where Acosta asked whether he feared Trump and his allies could interfere with the upcoming elections, particularly with the threat of Democratic-led investigations looming if they retake the House and Senate.
“Do you worry about vote tampering in the midterms?” Acosta asked. “With what they’re trying to pull these days, they don’t want accountability. They don’t want Democrats getting the gavels and launching hearings or even impeachment. You worried about that, James?”
“In a short word, yes,” Carville replied. “In longer words, very.”
Carville said he believes Trump is beginning to see signs of political collapse in states like Virginia and New Jersey, which could spark Republican retirements and public distancing from the former president.
“He’s going to see the writing on the wall,” Carville said. “And I don’t put anything past him — nothing. Whether it’s trying to call off the election or anything else. He thinks in ways we don’t. We assume elections are going to happen. Trump doesn’t operate like that.”
Carville warned that Trump is capable of using tactics so extreme they fall outside normal political thinking — and that Americans should be alert, not complacent.
“People come up to me and say, ‘James, I’m really scared.’ I tell them, ‘You should be. You have every reason to be scared. Don’t kid yourself.’”
Acosta responded bluntly: “This is scary shit.”
“Yeah, it’s really scary,” Carville agreed. “He’s already tried to steal one election. What’s to stop him from trying again? And this time, it could be worse, because he sees what’s coming. He’ll try anything to escape it.”
Both men ended the segment with a stark message: 2026 may be one of the most dangerous election cycles in modern American history.
