Speaking on NBC's Meet the Press, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker perfectly explained why President Donald Trump is pushing for gerrymandered redistricting in Republican-led states amid pushback from Democrats in Texas.
Redistricting has been all over the news cycle in the days since Texas Democrats fled the state to avoid voting on a new heavily-gerrymandered redistricting map and to deny their GOP colleagues a quorum, the minimum number of lawmakers required to conduct legislative business.
Under the newly proposed map, Republicans would gain five additional seats after the 2026 midterm elections—making it significantly more difficult for Democrats to reclaim the majority and potentially counter Trump's legislative priorities.
Most members traveled to Democratic-led states like Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts. In response, Trump has defended Texas Governor Greg Abbott and pointed to his own election win, saying that he "got the highest vote in the history of Texas, as you probably know, and we are entitled to five more seats."
Pritzker noted that Trump's policies, particularly those detailed in the One Big Beautiful Bill, are unpopular with voters across the country, and that Trump is pushing for redistricting because he knows he'll suffer major losses by the midterms.
He explained:
"[Trump] knows he's going to lose the Congress in 2026. That's why he's going to his allies and hoping they can save him and we've all got to stand against this."
"It's cheating. Donald Trump is a cheater. He cheats on his wives, he cheats at golf, and now he's trying to cheat the American people out of their votes."
You can hear what Pritzker said in the video below.
Many concurred with Pritzker's assessment.
Pritzker has established himself as one of the more prominent and forceful critics of Trump within the Democratic Party.
Earlier this year, he revealed that he clashed with Trump during the first Trump administration after Trump promised necessary medical equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic on the condition that Pritzker praise him publicly.
Pritzker said Trump "could have fought for us" but instead made "self-serving deals." Pritzker noted that he agreed to Trump's demand because "time was of the essence" and "my job at the time was to do virtually anything to get the White House to help us save lives.”
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