Axelrod: Trump, supporters ‘inviting violence’ after conviction

Democratic strategist David Axelrod said former President Trump and his supporters are “inviting violence” following Trump’s recent conviction in his hush money case.

“One of the things about this apocalyptic language that you hear from all of these, the … chorus, is, 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 hints that all the time,” Axelrod continued. “That’s how he got in trouble on January 6th, and he’s doing it again because I think he’s more desperate now than he was then.”

Trump became the first former U.S. president to be a convicted felon Thursday, after a jury found him guilty on all counts of falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments his then-fixer, Michael Cohen, made to porn actor Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.

Shortly after the jury read the verdict, Trump railed against the trial outside the courtroom.

“This was a rigged, disgraceful trial. The real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people, and they know what happened here, and everybody knows what happened here,” Trump said.

Many prominent Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), 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 this and gain a conviction, they can go after anybody,” Rubio said on Fox News’s “Hannity” on Thursday.

“And most people can’t afford to fight this stuff off.”

Axelrod also said he would be “shocked” if Trump gets a prison sentence due to the hush money case, but he said he thinks “there is something about jailing a former president, especially on something like this, that is, to me, worrisome for our country.”