US ex-president's adviser: Court decision removing Trump from primary ballot “would rip US apart”

Former Obama adviser David Axelrod warned on December 29 that a court decision removing former US President Donald Trump from the primary ballot “would rip the US apart” as legal questions mount over his candidate qualifications.

Maine’s secretary of state determined that Trump should be barred from the primary ballot, citing his conduct surrounding the January 6 Capitol riots as violating the 14th Amendment “insurrection clause”, according to The Hill.

“I have very, very strong reservations about all of this,” Axelrod said in an “Erin Burnett OutFront” interview on CNN. “I do think it would rip the country apart if he were actually prevented from running because tens of millions of people want to vote for him.” 

“I think if you’re going to beat Donald Trump, you’re going to probably have to do it at the polls,” he continued.