Former Obama senior adviser David Axelrod argued that Vice President Kamala Harris voters will be clever enough to navigate voting in the wake of the devastation from Hurricane Helene, while saying that rural Trump voters will have a harder time getting to the polls.
Axelrod made the claim during an episode of his podcast “Hacks on Tap” that aired Wednesday, predicting that liberal voters in Asheville, North Carolina – a predominantly blue area in the state – will “figure out a way to vote” more so than conservatives in the storm’s aftermath.
Describing Asheville as a “blue dot” in the state, he continued, “Those voters in Asheville are – they’re, you know, the kind of voters that will figure out a way to vote. You know, they’re upscale, kind of liberal voters, and they’re probably going to figure out a way to vote,” Axelrod said.
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Political analyst David Axelrod recently implied that “upscale” liberal voters in Asheville, NC will have a better chance at getting to the polls in wake of the Hurricane Helene than rural Trump voters. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
He continued, stating rural conservatives may not be as resourceful in finding ways to vote following the destruction of their homes and communities.
“I’m not sure a bunch of these folks who’ve had their homes and lives destroyed elsewhere in western North Carolina – in the mountains there – are going to be as easy to wrangle for the Trump campaign,” the political commentator hypothesized.
“I don’t know how that’s all going to play out, but it’s an unpredictable element in North Carolina that has made it, maybe a little more interesting,” he mused.
Communities in North Carolina – which Axelrod noted is the second-most rural state in the country – were hit especially hard by the effects of Hurricane Helene. Catastrophic flooding has destroyed roads and bridges, cutting off communities from getting much-needed aid.
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More than 70 people are now confirmed dead in North Carolina, and hundreds of people remain unaccounted for due to the lack of power and communication access.
As of Thursday, the death toll among the six states most affected by Helene – Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee – sits at 170. Disaster response teams fear that number will climb as they regain access to communities isolated by the storm.
Scott Richardson surveys his collapsed and destroyed house in the aftermath of Helene, in Boone, N.C., on Sept. 28. (Reuters/Jonathan Drake)
Multiple prominent X users commented on Axelrod’s political assessment.
OutKick.com founder Clay Travis posted, “On his podcast @davidaxelrod says Democrat voters in Asheville, North Carolina are smarter, wealthier and will still show up to vote for Kamala while he thinks Trump voters won’t. This is why Kamala and Biden aren’t helping, they benefit from the disaster.”
The Federalist editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway commented, “I fear that Axelrod’s point is why Harris and Biden are letting these people drown.”
Fox News contributor Tammy Bruce slammed Axelrod over his take, asking, “Did ya know that famous Democrat operative David Axelrod figures city Democrats are smarter and more resourceful and will figure out how to vote whereas the dumb Trump deplorables up in the mountains of NC who just lost everything, won’t. Was he on the verge of a Kamala cackle?”
Reporter and commentator Drew Hernnadez stated, “David Axelrod says Hurricane Helene victims in North Carolina that are Trump voters will have a hard time voting in the 2024 election. They hate you.”
Fox News Digital’s Bailee Hill contributed to this report.
