CNN’s John Avlon Tears Into ‘Dangerous Game’ of Democrats Funding Pro-Trump Candidates: ‘Incredibly Cynical and Hypocritical’

Democrats are playing a “dangerous game” that could spoil their chances in the upcoming midterm elections, CNN’s John Avlon said Tuesday.

In a “Reality Check” segment, the senior political analyst for the network highlighted multiple instances of the Democratic Party “meddling” in Republican primaries by dumping money into ad buys that promote Donald Trump-backed candidates over moderate conservatives, the thinking being that Trump loyalists will be easier to beat in a general election.

“There’s a lot of righteous talk, especially from Democrats, about how we need to build the biggest possible coalition to defend democracy,” Avlon stated, pointing to the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump as “profiles in courage.” He argued that such Republicans get ostracized by their own party as well as Democrats:

Talk is cheap, and the reality is that those brave folks, including Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney, have been taking a lot of fire from the left and right this year. And the most recent example is Peter Meijer, a young Army veteran and rising star from Michigan. A man whose independent minded, common sense conservative principles perfectly fit the district once held by Gerald Ford. But yesterday, with one week until his primary, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee decided to drop more than $400,000 ad buy in his district to boost the name of his Trump-backed far-right primary opponent because they believe he’d be much easier to beat in a district that Biden won in 2020.

Meijer, who has been labeled a “RINO Congressman” by Trump, is facing John Gibbs, who has the former president’s backing. A spokesperson for the DCCC told Axios this week that $425,000 was spent to air an ad essentially promoting Gibbs to conservatives by highlighting his ties to the president.

“Handpicked by Trump to run for Congress, Gibbs called Trump ‘the greatest president’ and worked in Trump’s administration with Ben Carson,” the ad states.

A spokesperson for Meijer told the outlet that the ad proves Democrats and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) prefer to face Gibbs in the midterms.

This is far from the only case of this happening. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D) has gotten attention recently for dumping loads of money into an ad that is supposed to be against Pennsylvania State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R), but also promotes him as the most conservative and loyal Trump Republican around. Mastriano even said he owes Shapiro a “thank you card” for the ad.

“Some principles are bigger than partisan gain,” Avlon said of Democrats participating in these political shenanigans against “honorable outliers” like Meijer.

This entire “trend” could backfire, he argued, as helping to push out moderate conservatives could only further unite the Trump supporting Republicans remaining and sour those in the middle.

“In D.C., getting reelected is held in higher regard than trying to do the right thing,” Avlon concluded.

Watch above via CNN