David Axelrod, a former top Obama adviser, expressed strong reservations about removing Donald Trump from the primary ballot, warning that it could divide the country.
He believes that Democrats’ best chance of beating Trump is at the polls and that efforts to remove him have backfired, only increasing his popularity.
Axelrod also suggested that Trump’s narrative of being targeted because of his presidential bid is being reinforced by such actions. (Trending: Donald Trump Breaks His Silence After Major Court Win)
Two states, Colorado and Maine, have taken steps to disqualify Trump from their primary ballots, citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, but the decisions are facing legal challenges.
“I have very, very strong reservations about all of this,” Axelrod said.
“I do think it would rip the country apart if he were actually prevented from running because tens of millions of people want to vote for him.”
“I think if you’re going to beat Donald Trump, you’re going to probably have to do it at the polls,” he said.
“A lot of the motivation for [Trump’s] candidacy was as a legal defense strategy.”
“He wanted to set up a construct … which says that they’re coming after him because he’s running for president, and they’re trying to prevent him from being president.”
“We’ve run this experiment, he’s only gained since he started getting indicted,” he said.
“What you thought might be kryptonite for him has turned out to be battery packs, and this is a big one for him,” Axelrod said.
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