Former President Barack Obama delivered a sharp critique of former President Donald Trump’s push to redraw Texas’ political maps during a virtual meeting with Texas state Democrats.
Speaking on a 30-minute Zoom call Thursday with members of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, Obama praised the lawmakers who left the state earlier this month to block Republicans from achieving a quorum on redistricting votes. The group has been in Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts, working to stall the GOP-led effort.
Traditionally, congressional maps are redrawn once every decade following the census, but Trump has called for a mid-decade “simple redrawing” in Texas. His plan, according to reports, would give Republicans a chance to gain up to five additional seats in the upcoming midterm elections—helping them maintain control of the House.
Obama refrained from naming Trump directly, CNN noted, but he strongly criticized efforts to manipulate the political system. He denounced moves to gerrymander districts, restrict voting rights, undermine election results, bypass Congress with executive orders, militarize American cities, and politicize federal institutions such as the Justice Department and the military.
“These are trend lines that remind us this precious democracy we’ve got is not a given,” Obama said. “It requires us to fight for it. It requires us to stand up for it.”
He argued that Republicans are increasingly aware their policies lack popular support and are instead “trying to fix the game” by redrawing maps to fracture Democratic strongholds or pack them into single districts, limiting their influence. “That’s not fair,” Obama emphasized. “That’s not how democracy is supposed to work.”
While Obama has largely stayed out of the spotlight since Trump’s return to office, gerrymandering is one issue where he has signaled a willingness to step back into the political fray. Later this month, he is set to headline a fundraiser on Martha’s Vineyard—his second since fall 2024—in support of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, founded by his former attorney general, Eric Holder.
The committee is spearheading both political campaigns and legal battles to counter Republican-led gerrymandering efforts in Texas, Ohio, and other states. Holder also joined Thursday’s call, briefing Texas Democrats on the organization’s broader fight to safeguard fair districting across the country, according to ABC News.
