Former Obama adviser David Axelrod continued to express his concern about efforts to keep former President Donald Trump off the ballot in 2024.
“I’m not here as an apologist for Donald Trump and I’m certainly not here as a lawyer,” Axelrod said on CNN’s “OutFront” on Wednesday.
“There are myriad legal questions that they’re gonna consider tomorrow,” he continued, referring to the Supreme Court hearing arguments on Thursday about whether Trump can appear on the Colorado GOP primary ballot. In December, the state’s Supreme Court ruled he is ineligible over his actions on Jan. 6. The court cited Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars insurrectionists from holding office.
“Some will undoubtedly offer off-ramps if they want an off-ramp, but I’m trying to imagine what it would be like if the Supreme Court said, ‘We’re removing the front-running Republican candidate from the ballot,’ and essentially saying to the American people, ‘You won’t have the opportunity to vote for him,'” Axelrod continued, going on to point out how such a decision would affect the U.S.
“I think it would be very, very disruptive in this country,” he said. “I think it will create a huge reaction. And that worries me. It worries me partly because of Donald Trump. There’s so much cynicism about our institutions already. And the strength of our democracy are these institutions. You can argue that’s why you have to go the way the Colorado court suggests. But I think in the minds of many voters, this would be a subversion and it would draw a very strong reaction.”
Maine’s secretary of state also moved to take Trump off the ballot but the state’s supreme court is holding off on deciding the matter until SCOTUS rules on the Colorado case.
In December, Axelrod warned if Trump were actually prevented from running, it would "rip the country apart."