David Axelrod criticized for calling 2020 election deniers a 'threat to democracy': And the '2016 election?'

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Former Obama White House adviser David Axelrod received intense pushback from conservatives for his Thursday morning tweet that 2020 election deniers are a "threat to Democracy."

Conservative swarmed his post reminding him of Democrats who claimed the 2016 election was stolen by Donald Trump from Hillary Clinton.

Axelrod’s tweet came as a bit of a preview to President Biden’s Thursday evening address to the nation about threats to American "democracy." Inspired by the topic, Axelrod mentioned why he thought many conservatives represented one of these threats.

He tweeted, "As the @POTUS prepares to address the nation to discuss threats to our democracy, upwards of 70 percent of Republicans say they don't believe Biden is the legitimately elected president. That, alone, is a threat to democracy."

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Conservatives blasted former Obama adviser David Axelrod after he claimed that the "70 percent" of Republicans who deny that Biden won fairly in 2020, are a "threat to democracy." (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Axelrod’s condemnation prompted rebuke from conservatives on Twitter, with The Federalist’s David Harsanyi leading the charge.

The senior editor at the conservative outlet blasted Axelrod’s tweet, reminding him that his party floated its own conspiracies about the 2016 election. Harsanyi wrote, "Just like Democrats in 2016. 67 percent. Why wasn't that a threat to democracy?"

Other Twitter-verified conservatives, including sports radio broadcaster Tony Bruno, made the same point in response to Axelrod. Bruno asked, "Did you mention that to Hillary who is still crying about 2016 being a legitimate election, Davey?"

The Spectator contributing editor Stephen L. Miller responded to Axelrod’s post with two screenshots of old tweets from Biden White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, which alleged that both the 2016 presidential and 2018 Georgia gubernatorial elections were stolen from Democrats. 

"Any comment, David?" Miller asked.

Axelrod commented on his original post, acknowledging some Democrats have accused the GOP of stealing elections, but countering with the claim that some Democrats’ denials of Trump’s 2016 win are not equivalent to today’s "threat to democracy."

David Axelrod insisted that claims of President Biden stealing the election are different from Democratic claims that Trump stole the election in 2016. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

He wrote, "Yes, the opposite has been true at times, with Dems doubting the results. But the doubts here have been sowed and amplified, unsupported by facts, by a president who, for the first time in history plotted to undermine a demonstrably free and fair election. That's different."

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Harsanyi responded, "Both Clinton and Biden have claimed that the 2016 election was stolen -- as have scores of other elected Democrats. And the entire left-wing establishment went on a four-year crusade spreading the lie that Russians had stolen the election. Why isn't that a threat to democracy?"

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Axelrod made his comments on the morning before Biden's planned Thursday night political address. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)