On Wednesday’s CNN Newsroom, host John King brought on former Obama administration senior advisor-turned-CNN host David Axelrod to celebrate President Obama’s attempt to boost Joe Biden’s campaign. The Democratic hacks praised Obama’s involvement and Axelrod blasted President Trump in comparison to his former boss.
King began the segment by praising a staged Biden campaign stunt of Biden and Obama sitting down to talk about how much they detest President Trump, calling it “an important video.” He then brought on Axelrod to hype up his former bosses:
So, you -- you know both of these men very well so let's go through part of this. We always knew that President Obama was going to help Joe Biden. Why is it important at this moment and what do you think of the way they're doing it? We’re living in this brave new world, a socially distanced conversation, a video, not rallies around the country.
Axelrod eagerly joined the partisan anchor in gushing over the video:
Yeah, well look, you have to make do with what you have and so -- so I -- I thought that was -- that was good and the way they're using Obama here is really interesting to me because, you know, as much as Joe Biden has been a fixture on the national scene for a very long time, he's not all that well known. The specifics of what he's done are not that well known. The specifics of where he wants to go are -- is something that he's focused on right now and here he's using Obama as validator and a very powerful validator, a guy who is highly respected -- high ratings from the public....So Obama is playing the role of validator in chief right here.
King marveled: "A validator in chief you say, and the themes they discuss, leadership, also a big theme in a Biden campaign ad -- campaign ad blitz going on right now."
Gleefully hoping national turmoil would damage Trump's electoral chances, Axelrod proclaimed: "You know, Trump’s fall has been really twinned up with the -- his handling of the virus. His ratings on the virus are very low. His ratings on his handling of race is very low as he seeks to kind of weaponize divisions in this country for his own political advantage and these are things that are dragging him down..."
Seeking to “weaponize divisions?” Obama was extremely divisive as president. A 2016 poll found 70% of Americans, after the first ever African-American president, believed that race relations were poor. That number was the highest it had been since the 1992 Rodney King Riots. 60% of Americans also said that they felt race relations worsened during his presidency. Obama repeatedly played the race card during his tenure in office and smeared America as an inherently racist country.
Referencing Obama's disdain for Trump, King wondered: "How much is he itching to be part of this?"
Axelrod concluded:
So I think he views this as a critical election, not just because Joe Biden was his Vice President, not just because Joe Biden was his friend, and not just because Donald Trump has been relentlessly antagonistic to him, but because of what has happened during the Trump years. So I expect he’s going to be very active in this campaign. He'll pick his spots, he’s not going to be a daily commentator, but he's clearly going to do whatever he thinks is appropriate to help Biden win this election.
CNN is no longer a news network. It brings on Obama stooges to fanboy over the former president and campaign for Joe Biden.
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Read the full July 22nd transcript here:
CNN Newsroom
07/22/20
11:32 AM ETJOHN KING: I suppose he can pick up the phone if he wants to go through that one as well. Arlette, there may be other conversations, but that's an important video. Arlette, thanks for the reporting there. Let's continue the conversation, get some insights from the former senior adviser to President Obama, and the host of The Axe Files of course here on CNN, David Axelrod. David, good to see you. So, you -- you know both of these men very well so let's go through part of this. We always knew that President Obama was going to help Joe Biden. Why is it important at this moment and what do you think of the way they're doing it? We’re living in this brave new world, a socially distanced conversation, a video, not rallies around the country.
DAVID AXELROD (CNN HOST OF THE AXE FILES, FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR TO PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA): Yeah, well look, you have to make do with what you have and so -- so I -- I thought that was -- that was good and the way they're using Obama here is really interesting to me because, you know, as much as Joe Biden has been a fixture on the national scene for a very long time, he's not all that well known. The specifics of what he's done are not that well known. The specifics of where he wants to go are -- is something that he's focused on right now and here he's using Obama as validator and a very powerful validator, a guy who is highly respected -- high ratings from the public and he -- and I suspect that they’re going to go through a list of some of the top issues that they think are in Biden's advantage here to talk about what they did, but also about what Biden wants to do. So Obama is playing the role of validator in chief right here.
KING: A validator in chief you say, and the themes they discuss, leadership, also a big theme in a Biden campaign ad -- campaign ad blitz going on right now. Let’s listen to a little snippet of that. It echoes what you just heard.
[Cuts to video]
NARRATOR OF BIDEN AD: In a crisis, you're tested. As a nation, we've been tested before, and he has too. Now we're being tested again and Joe Biden knows the answer is not ignoring the crisis, bailing out big corporations, and dividing a nation in pain.
[Cuts to live]
KING: We're in the middle of this pandemic obviously. President Trump is an incumbent in his leadership and the pandemic will be issue number one. Is that the right approach right now? Would -- is that what you do if you're Biden? Follow the news if you will. Focus on the news or would you try to do something different?
AXELROD: No, I really would, John. The fact is that if you look at all of the polling and I know you're a -- you’re an assiduous student of -- of this. You know, Trump’s fall has been really twinned up with the -- his handling of the virus. His ratings on the virus are very low. His ratings on his handling of race is very low as he seeks to kind of weaponize divisions in this country for his own political advantage and these are things that are dragging him down, particularly in those very critical suburban communities where Democrats have made great gains since Trump's been President. So I think setting up that contrast is very important for Biden and it's one of the things that's propelled him into a -- into a double-digit lead in this race.
KING: Alright and we’re going to have a lot of time to talk about the former vice president so I’ll come back to that. I want to focus last -- last question here on President Obama who we know has a history with President Trump. President Trump fueled the birther movement. There is no love lost between these two men. How much is he itching to be part of this? I'm assuming he’s frustrated, as the former vice president would love to be rallying with him around the country. I assume he is as well. What is his take on where we are at this moment in the race?
AXELROD: You know John, my impression just from the conversations that I've had with him and also because of the way that I know him is he is surprisingly little focused on these personal slights, but he is concerned about the policy direction the President’s -- and -- and -- the erosion of Democratic institutions. So I think he views this as a critical election, not just because Joe Biden was his Vice President, not just because Joe Biden was his friend, and not just because Donald Trump has been relentlessly antagonistic to him, but because of what has happened during the Trump years. So I expect he’s going to be very active in this campaign. He'll pick his spots, he’s not going to be a daily commentator, but he's clearly going to do whatever he thinks is appropriate to help Biden win this election.
