Former President Barack Obama delivered a sharp critique of former President Donald Trump\u2019s push to redraw Texas\u2019 political maps during a virtual meeting with Texas state Democrats.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Traditionally, congressional maps are redrawn once every decade following the census, but Trump has called for a mid-decade \u201csimple redrawing\u201d in Texas. His plan, according to reports, would give Republicans a chance to gain up to five additional seats in the upcoming midterm elections\u2014helping them maintain control of the House.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are trend lines that remind us this precious democracy we\u2019ve got is not a given,\u201d Obama said. \u201cIt requires us to fight for it. It requires us to stand up for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He argued that Republicans are increasingly aware their policies lack popular support and are instead \u201ctrying to fix the game\u201d by redrawing maps to fracture Democratic strongholds or pack them into single districts, limiting their influence. \u201cThat\u2019s not fair,\u201d Obama emphasized. \u201cThat\u2019s not how democracy is supposed to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Obama has largely stayed out of the spotlight since Trump\u2019s 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\u2019s Vineyard\u2014his second since fall 2024\u2014in support of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, founded by his former attorney general, Eric Holder.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s call, briefing Texas Democrats on the organization\u2019s broader fight to safeguard fair districting across the country, according to ABC News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former President Barack Obama delivered a sharp critique of former President Donald Trump\u2019s push to redraw Texas\u2019 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n