Former President Donald Trump’s supporters and Republicans are not the only ones who are against the idea of removing Trump from states’ presidential primary ballots. Top adviser to former President Barack Obama, David Axelrod, is also against it, as he said on Friday that keeping Trump from ballots could be risky for Democrats.

Speaking to CNN, he said that he has “very, very strong reservations” about efforts to disqualify Trump from presidential ballots in states like Maine and Colorado. According to him, the move might end up dividing the country.

“I have very, very strong reservations about all of this. 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,” he stated.

Per The New York Post, the former political advisor said that Democrats are only playing into Trump’s schemes, as he claimed the former president’s 2024 presidential campaign is intertwined with his legal defense.

“A lot of the motivation for [Trump’s] candidacy was as a legal defense strategy. He wanted to set up a construct … which says that they’re coming after him because he’s running for president, and they’re trying to prevent him from being president,” he stated.

Axelrod further pointed out that every attack launched against Trump by Democrats has backfired so far, as the GOP frontrunner’s support only keep increasing.

“We’ve run this experiment, he’s only gained since he started getting indicted,” he stated.

“If he’s being attacked, Republicans in Iowa tend to gravitate even more closely to him… His support is only getting stronger here in Iowa,” she stated.

For Axelrod, trying to weaponize the Constitution’s 14th Amendment against Trump is not the appropriate way to deter his reelection efforts.

“I think if you’re going to beat Donald Trump, you’re going to probably have to do it at the polls,” he argued, echoing California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s position on the matter.