Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville says it is time for former President Joseph R. Biden to disappear into retirement, warning that if he tries to steer the party forward, it will have a “negative” impact.

A Louisiana native known as the Ragin’ Cajun, Mr. Carville said the 82-year-old Mr. Biden would be better off keeping quiet, raising money for his presidential library and coming to grips with the fact the Democratic Party is moving on without him.

“Look, guy, you had a noble career. Your last act was terrible. Just get out of the way. Your part is moving on,” Mr. Carville said on the “Politics War Room” podcast, which he co-hosts with journalist Al Hunt. 

After 35 years in the Senate, two terms as vice president and a term as president,  Mr. Biden has tried to defend his legacy after concerns about his age and mental acuity ultimately led Democrats to replace him with Vice President Kamala Harris atop their ticket.

Mr. Biden has maintained in interviews that he could have defeated President Trump if he had stayed in the race — throwing some shade at Ms. Harris.

“No one [expletive] believes that at all,” Mr. Carville said of Mr. Biden’s claim.

Other Democrats have been reluctant to go there. The candidates running to become the next chair of the Democratic National Committee refused to say whether Mr. Biden was to blame for Mr. Trump’s victory.

Mr. Carville is not holding his tongue. His recommendation? Mr. Biden should go to his home in Rehoboth, Delaware, and “stay there.”

”It is very sad, but that is just where we are. He created this himself. He had nobody to blame but himself,” Mr. Carville said. “It is one of the most tragic stories of American politics in my lifetime.”

• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.