Trump says GOP is "entitled" to five more Texas seats amid redistricting push
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President Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House on Aug. 1. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
President Trump on Tuesday doubled down on his push for Texas to redraw its congressional district map ahead of the midterms, claiming that the GOP is "entitled to five more seats."
The big picture: The Trump-endorsed Texas effort has exploded into an all-out "war" between red and blue states, opening the door for a high-stakes redistricting race.
- The proposed map in Texas, which in an unusual move would be redrawn mid-decade, would make five districts currently represented by Democrats more favorable to Republicans, Axios' Megan Stringer and Asher Price report.
Driving the news: "We have an opportunity in Texas to pick up five seats," Trump said Tuesday on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "We have a really good governor, and we have good people in Texas."
- He continued, "I got the highest vote in the history of Texas ... and we are entitled to five more seats."
Reality check: Trump easily netted Texas and its 40 electoral votes in 2024, but that does not mean Republicans are "entitled" to more seats in the House.
Zoom in: Trump argued blue states "did it to us."
- He lamented that the GOP "should have a couple of Congress people" from Massachusetts, where he said he picked up "around 40 or 41% of the vote" (The Associated Press' count reported that Trump received 36.2%).
- Trump then slammed Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, one of the leading Democratic governors in the redistricting battle, as the "dumbest of all governors." Many Texas Democrats fled to Illinois to keep the state's Legislature from having a quorum to vote on new congressional maps.
- Illinois Republicans accused Pritzker of gerrymandering the state for Democrats in 2021, Axios' Justin Kaufmann reported. Trump on Tuesday said Illinois and California were "all gerrymandered."
What to watch: Democratic governors have launched an aggressive counteroffensive, responding with their own threats of redrawing.
- As Axios' Zachary Basu reported, both sides are well aware a Democratic midterm victory would derail Trump's agenda and potentially set the stage for his third impeachment.
Go deeper: Civil warrants issued for Texas Dems who fled state
