David Axelrod, then-President Barack Obama’s former senior adviser, got candid on CNN This Morning, warning former President Donald Trump is “formidable.”

While talking about Trump’s landslide victory in Iowa, Axelrod told the panel that the Biden campaign needs to “get into gear” if it is going to stand any chance in a 2020 rematch.

“They need a message, and they need a message that takes in not just democracy, but the day-to-day concerns that people have, and they need to prosecute it every single day through every single surrogate,” Axelrod said.

The former aide also commented on the possibility of Republican Trump critics voting for Biden if it came down to another Trump vs. Biden showdown. 

“The thing that I would look at if I were the Biden campaign is that third of people who say, ‘No, the election was legitimate. Yes, I think that President Trump would be unfit if he were convicted of a crime,’” he said. “It seems to me among that group, there are people who might consider voting for Biden, but I don’t consider myself a pearl-clutcher. I consider myself a realist.” 

While many Democrats have displayed unwavering support for Biden ahead of the 2024 elections, Axelrod has been a vocal critic of the Biden campaign’s polling numbers, telling Politico there’s reason for his supporters to be concerned. 

“There are people who are really, really committed to Joe Biden who felt a sense of concern and urgency — particularly because Donald Trump is on the other side of this race,” Axelrod said recently. 

After a poll in November showed Trump leading in five states that Biden had won in 2020, Axelrod questioned Biden’s candidacy. 

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Axelrod, who said he’s a realist, not a “pearl clutcher,” doesn’t care what Biden thinks of him. Instead, he advised him to think about whether being president for four more years is in “his best interest or the country’s.” 

Similarly, Democratic consultant James Carville has criticized Biden’s campaign ahead of the election, saying many voters don’t want Biden to be the nominee and that other prominent Democratic leaders such as Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) could step up if Biden decides to drop out.