Free Republic

The collapse of the 20th-century media pyramid on which Lippmann’s assumptions rested, and its rapid replacement by monopoly social media platforms, made it possible for the Obama White House to sell policy—and reconfigure social attitudes and prejudices—in new ways. ... the term “echo chambers” to describe the process by which the White House and its wider penumbra of think tanks and NGOs generated an entirely new class of experts who credentialed each other on social media in order to advance assertions that would formerly have been seen as marginal or not credible, thereby overwhelming the efforts of traditional subject-area gatekeepers...

CNN senior political commentator and former Obama adviser David Axelrod said Friday on “Newsroom” that President Donald Trump’s cuts to USAID were “stupid” and “more radical than any spending.” Axelrod said, “I am appalled by what happened at USAID, and I think it’s not just a blow to humanitarian causes and democratic causes around the world, but it’s a stupid move for our own national security. It creates a tremendous opening for China and Russia and foes of our country who want to fill the breach that we leave in a lurch here.”

Democratic strategist David Axelrod said President Trump’s remarks about taking over Gaza may give China ideas “as they eye Taiwan.” On Tuesday, Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu where he floated the idea of the U.S. taking over the Gaza Strip. He suggested Americans should be responsible for cleaning up and rebuilding the destructed region. Axelrod joined CNN on Tuesday and noted that world leaders typically don’t invade other countries because of the message it sends worldwide. He highlighted Trump’s 2022 comment when he called Russia’s move to invade Ukraine “genius.” If another country can “roll in” and...

If anyone in the future cares enough to write an authentic history of the 2024 presidential campaign, they might begin by noting that American politics exists downstream of American culture, which is a deep and broad river. Like any river, American culture follows a particular path, which has been reconfigured at key moments by new technologies. In turn, these technologies, which redefine both space and time—canals and lakes, the postal system, the telegraph, railroads, radio and later television, the internet, and most recently the networking of billions of people in real time on social media platforms—set the rules by which...

Democratic strategist David Axelrod is pushing for U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel to become the new chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). “If they said, ‘Well, what should we do? Who should lead the party?’ I would take Ambassador Rahm Emanuel, and I would bring him back from Japan and I would appoint him chairman of the Democratic National Committee,” Axelrod said Tuesday on his podcast “Hacks on Tap.” “He is the most skillful, political kind of infighter in the Democratic Party. … He’s been a member of Congress, he’s been White House chief of staff, he’s been...

Democratic strategist David Axelrod argued President-elect Trump’s second administration has a “wholly different feel” from his first team. “Say what you will about the direction he wants to take the country but this is a wholly different feel from 2016. Trump is stocking his admin with seasoned loyalists who will not guide, but rather BE guided, by HIM,” Axelrod posted to the social platform X. “People wanted to shake up Washington. For better or worse, they’re [going] to get what they asked for,” he said. Trump’s former White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, also noted Trump’s transition back to...

President-elect Trump was on track to win 400 electoral votes in a head-to-head race against President Biden, according to the White House’s own internal polls. The news was revealed by Jon Favreau, a one-time speechwriter for former President Obama who now hosts the liberal Pod Save America podcast. “Then we find out when the Biden campaign becomes the Harris campaign, that the Biden campaign’s own internal polling at the time when they were telling us he was the strongest candidate, showed that Donald Trump was going to win 400 electoral votes,” Favreau said. “Joe Biden’s decision to run for president...

Former Obama adviser David Axelrod admitted there are no guarantees voters will turn out for Vice President Kamala Harris on Election day. “I can tell you that I’ve talked to people who have been on the ground in places like Philadelphia, Detroit, New Orleans, and they have all said the same thing,” Axelrod said on CNN. “There’s zero enthusiasm on the ground for Kamala Harris in the demographics that they need.”

On Wednesday, CNN Senior Political Commentator and former Obama adviser David Axelrod stated that when 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris “doesn’t want to answer a question, her habit is to kind of go to word salad city,” and she did that a few times during her town hall with CNN, including on Israel. Axelrod said that he thought that Harris’ performance at CNN’s town hall was “mixed” and “she was very strong coming out of the gate. And she obviously came with a purpose, which, she wanted to — they want to shine a focus on this...

Where’s Kam? It’s a question a growing number of Democrats are asking as the vice president is increasingly MIA on the campaign trail as the 2024 presidential contest enters its final month. “There’s a time at which you just have to barnstorm these battlegrounds,” Obama campaign guru David Axelrod told Politico. “These races are decathlons, and there are a lot of events, and you have to do all of them because people want to test you.” Axelrod said Harris needed to be doing more interviews, including with tougher audiences, and that voters were expecting to see more of her. While...

Former Obama adviser David Axelrod implied that “liberal voters” in Asheville, North Carolina, would “figure a way to vote,” despite the damage from Hurricane Helene, while Trump voters would not. During an episode of the podcast Hacks on Tap, Axelrod spoke about Hurricane Helene and how places such as Asheville, in western North Carolina, had been affected by heavy rainfall and flooding, noting that there was “a lot of displacement” as a result. Axelrod described North Carolina as being the “second most rural state” in the United States.

Former Obama adviser David Axelrod said Saturday on CNN’s “Newsroom Live” that there was a lot of “irrational exuberance” on the Democratic side of the aisle over Kamala Harris’ candidacy. Axelrod said, “His whole message has been built for two years now around strength. He’s strong. He’s the guy who can handle these problems, and so on, and now he’s got a younger and more agile opponent when it comes to debating, and he doesn’t want to debate. I don’t know that it’s a great look for him. I do think at the end of the day, he may feel...

Democratic strategist David Axelrod said early Friday morning that former President Trump’s speech at the Republican National Committee (RNC) was “the first good thing that’s happened to Democrats in three weeks.” “People, I’m sure, responded very positively to his appeals to unity that were written on the teleprompter, and then he just ripped the bejesus out of everybody… all his political enemies and so on,” Axelrod, also a former Obama adviser said on CNN. “I have to tell you… Chris Wallace said this,” Axelrod said. “This is the first good thing that’s happened to Democrats in the last three weeks.”...

Joe Scarborough, co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” knocked Democratic strategist David Axelrod on Wednesday for continuing to criticize President Biden publicly — as the president maintains he’s committed to staying in the race. Scarborough and co-host Mika Brzezinski in their newscast rebuked Biden’s critics and defended the president for occasionally stumbling over his words. 2024 ELECTIONS Scarborough knocks Axelrod over Biden criticism BY SARAH FORTINSKY - 07/17/24 1:16 PM ET SHARE POST Joe Scarborough speaks April 11, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images) Joe Scarborough, co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” knocked Democratic strategist David Axelrod on...

Senior Democratic strategist David Axelrod raised questions Monday about former President Trump’s current strategy of keeping quiet amid rising concerns over President Biden’s health and candidacy. “Trump’s not talking much about Biden’s bad debate. Trump’s campaign is not blitzing ads about it. And Lara Trump said last week it would be an affront to democracy if Biden were not the nominee,” Axelrod wrote in a social media post. “Question: Why do you think they are uncharacteristically holding fire?” Axelrod, a longtime adviser to former President Obama, has been an outspoken critic of the Biden campaign in recent weeks as the...

It has been clear for five years that President Joe Biden has been in serious mental and physical decline. Instead of investigating his condition, the leftwing media covered for Biden and attacked those raising the questions. In addition, his closest aides, Vice President Kamala Harris, his family and, especially, his wife vouched for his ability to serve another four years as President. To think of Joe Biden as President for another four minutes is disturbing, for another four years is asinine. Everyone knows that if Biden somehow wins re-election this year, he will soon turn over the position to his...

Democratic strategist David Axelrod said on Sunday that he doesn’t think President Biden understands he is “not winning this race” against former President Trump. “There are certain immutable facts of life, and those were painfully obvious on that debate stage, and the President just doesn’t seem to come to – he hasn’t come to grips with it. He’s not winning this race,” Axelrod, a senior adviser in the Obama administration, said on CNN’s “Inside Politics Sunday.” “If you just look at the data and talk to people around the country, political people around the country, it’s more likely that he’ll...

A top advisor to former President Obama offered a dismal assessment of President Biden’s make or break interview on ABC. David Axelrod, the architect of Obama’s two successful presidential campaigns, called the Friday sitdown “sad” to watch. “When George Stephanopoulos asked him if he’d be willing to take a cognitive test, he said, ‘I take a cognitive test every day.’ Well, the fact is, that may be true, but 75% of the American people think he fails,” Axelrod said in post-interview analysis on CNN Friday. While Biden again rejected calls to leave the race, saying only the “Lord Almighty” could...

Democratic strategist David Axelrod warned that President Biden is “dangerously out of touch” with voters on the issue of his age and health following Biden’s highly anticipated sit-down interview on ABC News. “The president is rightfully proud of his record. But he is dangerously out-of-touch with the concerns people have about his capacities moving forward and his standing in this race,” Axelrod wrote in a post on the social platform X. “Years ago at this time, he was 10 points ahead of Trump. Today, he is six points behind.” Axelrod’s comments came shortly after Biden’s full interview with ABC News’s...

CNN senior political commentator and former Obama adviser David Axelrod said Friday on “OutFront” that President Joe Biden’s family advisers are “indulging hm” by telling him there is a path forward for his candidacy. Axelrod said, “I think that for those who care about the president, I’m sure his family does, but family advisers who are, I think, indulging him here by telling him that there’s a path forward. I think that there’s a terrible risk to this. I do think that this is a this will define him if he moves forward. He’s had an extraordinary career. I worked...