CNN’s Axelrod Reacts To Trump Rant About Black Voters By Arguing Biden ‘Should Be Concerned’ About Black Support

CNN host David Axelrod reacted to former President Donald Trump’s much-derided rant about his appeal to Black people by saying President Joe Biden “should be concerned” about losing Black support.

Trump won the Republican presidential primary in South Carolina by about twenty points, a convincing victory that did fall short of sky-high expectations. That win came amid a flurry of speeches that drew criticism for their content and delivery — including a stunning address to a Black conservative group.

On Monday’s edition of CNN News Central, co-anchor Kate Bolduan played a clip from that speech in which Trump said the “Black population” responded to him because of his mugshot and his criminal charges, then asked Axelrod if Trump’s play for Black voters should concern Biden.

Axelrod ignored the content of Trump’s rant, and said Biden “should be concerned” about Black support:

KATE BOLDUAN: Let’s look ahead to the potential general election matchup. Donald Trump this weekend, he spoke to a gathering of Black conservatives in South Carolina making an appeal to Black voters. And I’m going to play what was part of his pitch. Listen to this.

DONALD TRUMP: We’ve all seen the mug shot. And you know who embraced it more than anybody else? The Black population.

KATE BOLDUAN: And that’s just a portion of what he said. He was talking about his legal troubles, the mug shot. Regardless of if that was scripted or was a Trump off the cuff and regardless of how it was received. This fits with his attempt to try to appeal to Black men specifically. Should this be a legitimate concern for the Biden campaign looking at it?

DAVID AXELROD: I think it should. Look, he’s polling, you know, 20, 21% among, African-American voters here. Biden, got 88% of that vote, back in 2020. And this is going to be a marginal race.

So, this is a concern. And, yes, Black men and particularly younger Black men are the ones that are drifting away.

Some may vote for Trump, some may not vote at all. And, this has to be a concern, for the Biden campaign. Trump knows that.

And I by the way, I think it may impact on his vice presidential, choice. And, you know, there’s a lot of talk about Tim Scott as a vice presidential candidate. I think if he picks Tim Scott, it’s partly because he recognizes this would be helpful in kind of sealing in, that portion of the African-American vote that he now has.

KATE BOLDUAN: Yeah, been kind of taking it full circle. It’s the not even just peeling, peeling them off from from Biden’s board. It’s the we might just stay at home, which can have just as much of just as much of an impact. And when you’re talking about this marginal race.

Watch above via CNN News Central.