Democratic strategist David Axelrod told CNN he is open to President-elect Donald Trump succeeding in his second term, telling CNN host Anderson Cooper Monday night that he would be pleased if Trump could get most of his agenda done.
“Donald Trump said he’s going to lower prices for people very soon. He said he’s going to take care of the border, he’s going to reduce crime, he’s going to end the war, he’s going to do a lot of things. If he does all those things, God bless him, good for him and good for the country.”
While making his claim, the former Obama adviser criticized the late conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh for wishing former President Barack Obama they wouldn’t succeed in the office.
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Democratic strategist David Axelrod told Anderson Cooper that he supports Trump’s success on much of his second-term agenda. (Screenshot/CNN)
“I was, you know, stunned in 2009 when Barack Obama took office and on the same day Rush Limbaugh told the nation that he was rooting for Obama to fail,” Axelrod said, suggesting he would not be rooting for Trump’s political death.
The prominent democratic figure suggested that he would support the incoming president, especially if he seeks common ground with Democratic lawmakers. However, Axelrod said he was concerned that Trump would not take his grievances to the opposing party in government to facilitate that cooperation.
“And if there are places where Democrats and Republicans can work together, that’s a positive thing,” he said, adding, “The fact is he hasn’t demonstrated a particular desire to work with Democrats in the past. If you read his social media sources, that’s pretty clear – even to this day.”
“It would behoove him, just as the Democrats do, to say, ‘I have bigger things to do than air my grievances and prosecute my enemies. I want to work with the people wherever I can.’ And let’s see if he does.”
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In a recent guest essay in the New York Times, Rep. Tom Suozzi, DN.Y., urged his party to turn over a new leaf and compromise with President-elect Trump, rather than resisting his agenda. (Craig Ruttle-Pool/Getty Images)
Axelrod continued, offering some advice to Trump and Democrats.
Other prominent Democrats have called on both parties to work together for a second Trump term, with some going so far as to say the party’s continued resistance to Trump’s first-term agenda would be a “mistake.”
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In a New York Times essay published on New Year’s Day, Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., made that pointwriting, “As a Democratic member of Congress, I know my party will be tempted to stand firm against Mr. Trump at every turn: uniting against his bills, blocking his nominees, and stalling the machinery of the House and Senate. That would be a mistake.”
Like Axelrod, Suozzi expressed doubt that Trump would work with those on the other side of the aisle, but noted that if Trump wants to negotiate with Democratic lawmakers, they should “meet him halfway and not be the No party.”
