WASHINGTON (TNND) — A CNN political analyst said early Wednesday that "appeals to racism” impacted President-elect Donald Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.

David Axelrod, who joined the network after serving as a senior advisor to former President Barack Obama, told members of a panel anyone who denies prejudice played a role in the election is "wrong."

“Let’s be honest about this, okay? Let’s be absolutely blunt about it,” he said. “There were appeals to racism in this campaign, and there is racial bias in this country, and there is sexism in this country, and anybody who thinks that did not in any way impact on the outcome of this race is wrong.”

At campaign rallies, Trump repeatedly mispronounced Vice President Kamala Harris’s name and used the 44th president’s full name, “Barack Hussein Obama,” when referring to him.

He also said during an interview at a convention for the National Association of Black Journalists in August that Harris was Indian “all the way, and then, all of a sudden, she made a turn and she became a Black person.”

Axelrod told the CNN panel the “appeals to racism” were not the main reason why Trump won, noting that his campaign team ran a “smart” operation.

"I think they ran, honestly, strategically his campaign,” the commentator explained. “And I’ve said it many times: They ran a very smart campaign.

“It was a ultimately rational, well-conceived and well-executed campaign for an irrational, often irrational candidate, and they overcame him to sell his message, or the message that they thought he should be selling, to the country,” Axelrod continued.

A CNN exit poll showed 20% of Black male voters in Pennsylvania voted for Trump in 2024, compared to 10% in 2020. Trump also made significant gains with Latino men, who favored him54%-44% nationally despite backing Biden in 2020, NBC exit polling shows.

“They came from all quarters: union, nonunion, African-American, Hispanic-American, Asian-American, Arab-American, Muslim-American – We had everybody, and it was beautiful,” Trump said.

Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.