Axelrod: Important Biden Doesn’t ‘Oversell Where We Are as a Country’ in SOTU Address

CNN senior political commentator and former Obama adviser David Axelrod on Tuesday cautioned President Joe Biden “not to oversell where we are as a country” during his upcoming State of the Union address.

Axelrod acknowledged that Biden should note the “progresses that have been made” during his presidency but said he should show “empathy” given the “terrible trauma” the nation has gone through.

“I’m not saying that he shouldn’t note the progresses that have been made. He’s going to talk about the things he’s done, and he should. But I think it is important not to oversell where we are as a country,” Axelrod emphasized on “New Day.”

“You know, we have made progress objectively in the last year. But we have been through a terrible trauma, and people are still feeling that trauma,” he added. “You look at the right direction number in polls when you ask people are we going in the right direction, the wrong direction. It is profoundly negative right now. And for good reason. I mean, these last few years will be looked back at by historians as an epically traumatic time for the country, and, you know, whether you’re the parent of a schoolchild or someone who has a business that has been affected by closings or any number of other things, not the least of which the people who have lost loved ones, we have been jolted. And really, you know, Joe Biden’s greatest strength is empathy and connection. And that’s what he needs to show.”

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