<p>Even David Axelrod, top adviser to former President Barack Obama, has admitted that forcibly removing former President Donald Trump from primary ballots — which some states have already attempted to do, pending court rulings — could be a risky move for Democrats.</p>
<p>Axelrod told CNN on Friday that he had &#8220;very, very strong reservations&#8221; about states like <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maine-official-who-booted-trump-from-ballot-visited-biden-white-house-blasted-the-electoral-college" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Maine</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/catastrophic-effects-colorado-gop-asks-supreme-court-to-reverse-trumps-removal-from-ballot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Colorado</a> — where officials have cited the 14th Amendment&#8217;s &#8220;insurrection&#8221; clause and declared Trump &#8220;ineligible&#8221; to run for President in 2024 because of what happened on January 6th, 2021.</p>
<p>&#8220;I have very, very strong reservations about all of this. 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,&#8221; Axelrod said.</p>
<p>As The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/12/30/news/removing-trump-from-the-primary-ballot-would-rip-the-country-apart-david-axelrod/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, Axelrod argued that Trump had essentially set up his campaign to function as part of his legal defense — and Democrats who wanted him removed from the 2024 primary ballot were playing right into his hands.</p>
<p>&#8220;A lot of the motivation for [Trump’s] candidacy was as a legal defense strategy,&#8221; Axelrod explained, adding, &#8220;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.&#8221;</p>
<p>The problem, Axelrod added, was that every attack Democrats had brought against the former president so far appeared to have backfired: &#8220;We’ve run this experiment, he’s only gained since he started getting indicted.&#8221;</p>
<p>Brianne Pfannenstiel, chief political reporter at the Des Moines Register, backed up Axelrod&#8217;s assessment to former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on her Sunday morning MSNBC show.</p>
<p>&#8220;If he&#8217;s being attacked, Republicans in Iowa tend to gravitate even more closely to him&#8230; His support is only getting stronger here in Iowa,&#8221; she said.</p>
<p><strong>WATCH:</strong></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;If he&#39;s being attacked, Republicans in Iowa tend to gravitate even more closely to him&#8230; His support is only getting stronger here in Iowa.&quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/brianneDMR?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@brianneDMR</a> on Iowa polling that shows Trump&#39;s rhetoric makes GOP caucusgoers more likely to support him <a href="https://t.co/Hxb60GaQbD">pic.twitter.com/Hxb60GaQbD</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) <a href="https://twitter.com/InsideWithPsaki/status/1741509605971185815?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p>Ultimately, Axelrod argued that the best way to defeat Trump was not in removing him from the ballot but in beating him at the ballot box. &#8220;I think if you’re going to beat Donald Trump, you’re going to probably have to do it at the polls.&#8221;</p>

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Former Obama Advisor Admits It: Keeping Trump Off The Ballot Is A Risky Move For Democrats

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Former Obama Advisor Admits It: Keeping Trump Off The Ballot Is A Risky Move For Democrats