Axelrod: 'Pretty clear' Trump has no desire to work with Democrats
Veteran Democratic strategist David Axelrod says it is “pretty clear” President-elect Trump has no desire to work with Democrats on bipartisan solutions, pointing to Trump's social media posts and track-record during his first term in the White House.
During a Monday night appearance on CNN, Axelrod told the panel that while the president-elect pledged to end foreign wars, lower prices of goods, crack down on crime and "take care" of the southern border while on the campaign trail, he has not shown his ability to cooperate with the other side of the aisle.
“If he does all those things, God bless him. good for him ... and good for the country," he said on CNN's "AC360," adding that, "if there are places where the Democrats and Republicans can cooperate, that is a positive."
But, Axelrod continued, there is "not evidence in the past of particular desire to want to work with Democrats.
“If you read his social media feeds that is pretty clear even to this day. It would behoove him as it does Democrats to say I have bigger things to do than air my grievances and go after my enemies," the strategist said. "I want to work with people where I can. Let‘s see if he does that.”
Trump has heavily criticized Democrats in recent months, particularly following his victory in the 2024 presidential election against Vice President Harris. In November, he argued that Democrats are “not in line” with the country’s thinking.
But, during his victory speech, the president-elect signaled that he wanted to put divisions on the sideline and be the president of all Americans, arguing that “success” will bring unity to the country.
"And I'm asking every citizen all across our land to join me in this noble and righteous endeavor. That's what it is. It's time to put the divisions of the past four years behind us. It's time to unite, and we're gonna try,” Trump said during the speech from his Mar-a-Lago resort Florida. “We're gonna try. We have to try. And it's gonna happen."
“Success will bring us together. I've seen that. I've seen that. I saw that in the first term, when we became more and more successful, people started coming together,” he added at the time. “Success is going to bring us together and we are going to start by all putting America first.”
Some Democrats have expressed interest in working with Trump and Republicans on issues. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Sunday that Democrats, including himself, would “love” to work with the president-elect on a deal for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients.
A few progressives in Congress, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), have also expressed interest in working with Republicans on cutting down the defense budget, where the Pentagon’s high spending has drawn scrutiny on both sides of the aisle.