Skip to main content

David Axelrod

Lean LeftLean Left biasWhat does this mean?

How we determined this rating:

  • Independent Review
  • Editorial Review: Apr 2025
  • AllSides has low or initial confidence in this bias rating.

Unless otherwise noted, this bias rating refers only to online news coverage, not TV, print, or radio content.

Learn about our bias rating methods
Contents
  1. About David Axelrod's Bias Rating
  2. What a "Lean Left" Rating Means
  3. Details
  4. Bias Reviews
  5. Confidence Level

About David Axelrod's Bias Rating

David Axelrod is a author source with an AllSides Media Bias Rating™ of Lean Left.

What a "Lean Left" Rating Means

Sources with an AllSides Media Bias Rating of Lean Left display media bias in ways that moderately align with liberal, progressive, or left-wing thought and/or policy agendas. A Lean Left bias is a moderately liberal rating on the political spectrum.

Learn more about Lean Left ratings

Details

David Axelrod is the chief political analyst for CNN. 

Back to top

Bias Reviews

We use multiple methods to analyze sources. Learn how we rate media bias.

David Axelrod Rated Lean Left in April 2025 Small Group Editorial Review

A group of three AllSides reviewers on the left, center, and right rated David Axelrod as Lean Left in an April 2025 Small Group Editorial Review.

Axelrod is a political analyst, founder of the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, and former chief strategist for Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns. He has been critical of President Donald Trump, particularly on issues related to the economy, national security, and foreign policy — at one point calling Trump’s tariffs “the beginning of the end” of his presidency and describing his message to Canadian voters as “nuttiness.”

However, Axelrod has occasionally broken with the Democratic Party and voiced support for certain Republicans. He opposed the Democrats calls for Trump’s impeachment in 2018 and praised Mike Pence for receiving the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, saying “there was no one more deserving.”

Back to top

Confidence Level

Confidence is determined by how many reviews have been applied and consistency of data.

As of June 2026, AllSides has low or initial confidence in our Lean Left rating for David Axelrod. If we perform more bias reviews and gather consistent data, this confidence level will increase.