James Carville said fading Trump signs, flags and roadside merchandise in places like rural Texas and south Mississippi suggest Republican enthusiasm is slipping ahead of the midterms.
Carville argued repeated anecdotes now amount to a trend, saying Trump backers no longer approach him in public as they did a year ago and that rural Republicans may no longer run up past margins.
The veteran Democratic strategist tied that view to Trump’s standing, calling it an "outrage" that 36% of Americans still approve of the president and branding remaining supporters "world-class" buffoons.
The White House pushed back sharply, with spokesman Davis Ingle calling Carville a "stone-cold loser" suffering from "Trump Derangement Syndrome."