As Texas Democrats head again to the southern state amid redistricting wars with California, Rachel Maddow broke down the methods she says President Donald Trump is utilizing to “rig” the 2026 midterm elections in order that Republicans can seize maintain of Congress longterm.
After briefly explaining Trump’s name on Texas to redraw their congressional districts in an effort to nab 5 seats within the Home of Representatives, a pursuit that California Gov. Gavin Newsom is matching, the MSNBC host detailed how not solely is Texas getting in on the struggle, so are different crimson and swing states.
“It’s really not simply Texas,” Maddow mentioned on Monday night time. “Vice President J.D. Vance flew to Indiana final week to place strain on the Republican governor there to additionally rig the Indiana maps; for the Republicans in Missouri and New Hampshire and South Carolina and Florida to attempt to get these states to all rig their congressional maps as properly.”
She continued: “In an effort to successfully assure Republican management of Congress for years to come back … demanding modifications to congressional district maps to basically make it structurally unimaginable for Democrats to manage Congress. Once more, utilizing Republican-controlled states to do it.”
Her subsequent level was Trump’s demand for a “new” census, regardless of work on the 2030 census already being within the works. Per NPR, Trump mentioned by way of a social media submit that the brand new census would exclude hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants.
“The census is how we get congressional districts, and if Trump can successfully nullify the present census by blaming the counting of immigrants or one thing, by doing so, he’ll lay the bottom for claiming that each one the present congressional districts on this nation, which all solely exist due to that census … are all by some means dangerous and so they can’t be used,” Maddow defined. “Subsequently, we are able to’t have congressional elections utilizing the congressional districts that we thought now we have.”
In line with the 14th Modification of the U.S. Structure, the “complete variety of individuals in every state” are to be counted as a part of census numbers.
Maddow’s third and ultimate level pertained to the choices Individuals should solid their votes. On Monday, Trump took to his Reality Social account to announce that he plans to place an finish to mail-in ballots and voting machines, which he says he’ll log out on by way of an government order, claiming, with out proof, that voting machines are “extremely inaccurate.”
All of this, Maddow famous, is an “concept” Trump bought from his wannabe “greatest buddy,” Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Trump mentioned Putin gave him recommendation on find out how to conduct elections right here in our nation,” Maddow mentioned. “Putin says that folks shouldn’t be allowed to vote by mail. He says he bought that concept from Putin. And so, immediately, Trump says that he’ll signal an government order barring Individuals nationwide from voting by mail and probably banning voting machines as properly.”
Maddow went on to warn these watching to take heed of Trump’s phrases and the actions that observe, additionally highlighting that his try to alter voting insurance policies will disproportionately goal and affect marginalized teams of individuals.
“City downtowns can be stuffed with ICE checkpoints and intimidating Nationwide Guard troops to ‘double test’ that solely residents vote,” she predicted.
