David Axelrod praises Trump for talking to press after Biden dodged reporters

CNN’s David Axelrod said Monday that it was somewhat “refreshing” to see President Trump take questions from reporters on the first day he took office. 

“I think also, he said, ‘did Biden do this?’ I think he wanted to set a contrast with [former President] Biden, by sort of having this rolling press conference,” Axelrod said. 

CNN’s Anderson Cooper said it was rare to see something like that, referring to the president taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, just hours after being sworn in. 

“And there‘s a reason for it because the words of a president can actually send armies marching and markets tumbling and have real consequences,” Axelrod said. “I think it’s refreshing for presidents to be – I mean, I was among those who was critical of the lack of exposure of President Biden. And I think it’s good for presidents to be exposed. It’s better if they tell the truth when they’re doing it,” he added.

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Axelrod also criticized Trump for pardoning the Jan. 6 rioters, one of his first acts, blasting the president for referring to them as “hostages.”

“These are people who either confessed or were convicted of crimes related to marauding the Capitol to try to stop the lawful process of certifying an American election,” he said. “And the only defense that I can think of for this action today is that those people went there because they were told an abject lie by the President of the United States that the election had been stolen and that something improper was happening.”

Sitting at the Resolute desk in the Oval Office, Trump signed off on releasing more than 1,500 charged with crimes stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The order requires the Federal Bureau of Prisons to act immediately on receipt of the pardons.

“Tonight I’m going to be signing on the J6 hostages, pardons to get them out,” Trump said at an event with supporters in Washington.

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CNN’s Kaitlan Collins noted later in the discussion that Trump had spoken to the press for 45 minutes. 

During his back and forth with reporters, Trump discovered the letter Biden left him, a tradition for outgoing presidents.

Fox News’ Diana Stancy and Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.