Democratic strategist warns party against making a 'martyr' out of Abrego Garcia

Longtime Democratic strategist Mo Elleithee advised his party not to align too closely with Kilmar Abrego Garcia — who, according to the Trump administration, was deported last month as an MS-13 gang member who also violently beat his wife — during an appearance on CNN's "The Arena with Kasie Hunt" on Friday.

Elleithee reminded Democrats that they "don’t know all of the details about this guy," and warned against making him a "martyr."

He instead recommended that his party focus on what he perceives as the Trump administration "chipping away at our rights."

KILMAR ABREGO-GARCIA SUSPECTED OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN REPORT OBTAINED BY FOX NEWS

"Let's not make him a martyr. Let’s make this about the fact that Donald Trump and his administration are chipping away at our rights on a daily basis," Elleithee told the panel.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., recounted his meeting with Abrego Garcia in El Salvador during a press conference on Friday, during which he said he would not stop fighting until the man is released from the El Salvadoran mega-prison.

Elleithee pushed back on Van Hollen's approach, and questioned whether the senator's message would "resonate with the rest of the country."

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"Look, I think everyone in the White House are giving each other high-fives, and everyone who supports the guy in El Salvador are giving each other high-fives, right? Both sides have kind of gone to their corners and are saying this is the fight we want to have. Whereas I don’t necessarily know it’s the conversation that would actually resonate with the rest of the country," Elleithee said.

The Democratic strategist suggested that the party's message should be less about Abrego Garcia specifically, and more focused on the implications his case has on the rest of the country.

"It's less about him, as it is about all of us," Elleithee suggested. "And if he [Van Hollen] were to have focused on that — he did it a little bit, he did it a little bit there about a third of the way through, right? — Where he said, ‘Taking away his constitutional rights takes away all of our constitutional rights.’ That's the place to take this."