Democratic strategist David Axelrod said former President Trump and his supporters are “inviting violence” following Trump’s recent conviction in his silence case.
“One of the things about this apocalyptic language that you hear from all of them, the… chorus, is that they really are inviting violence and that’s a big concern of mine, and Trump is completely unrestrained in suggesting that maybe that’s appropriate, ” Axelrod said on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” on Friday.
“I mean, he insinuates it all the time,” Axelrod continued. “That’s how he got into trouble on January 6th, and he’s doing it again because I think he’s more desperate now than he was before.”
Trump became the first former US president to be a convicted felon on Thursday after a jury found him guilty on all counts of falsifying business records in connection with secret payments his then-fixer, Michael Cohen, made to porn star Stormy Daniels, before the 2016 election.
Shortly after the jury read the verdict, Trump protested the trial outside the courtroom.
“This was a rigged and shameful trial. The real verdict will be given by the people on November 5th, and they know what happened here, and everyone knows what happened here,” Trump said.
Many prominent Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), criticized the verdict.
“I think it’s terrible. I think what this shows today is that they can go after a former president with a ridiculous charge like that and get a conviction, they can go after anyone,” Rubio said on Fox News’ “Hannity” on Thursday.
“And most people don’t have the luxury of fighting these things.”
Axelrod also said he would be “shocked” if Trump were sentenced to prison over the hush money case, but said he thinks “there is something about jailing a former president, especially something like this, that is, to me, troubling for our country.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
