Mar 14, 2025 [Reed Galen](/columnist/reed-galen)
Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville recently made waves for suggesting that his party roll over and play dead in response to the second Trump administration – a strategy that many Democrats have seemingly taken to heart. But they are foolish to think that voters will reward them for doing nothing while America burns.
WASHINGTON, DC – In a recent _New York Times_ op-ed, veteran Democratic strategist James Carville [suggested](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/opinion/democrats-trump-congress.html) a “daring political maneuver” for his party in response to US President Donald Trump’s shock-and-awe tactics: “roll over and play dead.” Unsurprisingly, his suggestion elicited howls of disapproval and scathing rebukes from Democrats across the spectrum. But one could argue, especially after the party’s feckless response to Trump’s joint address to Congress, that it has already taken this advice to heart.