‘He’s Shaking in His Boots!’: Trump Accidentally Endorses Democrats’ House Power Grab During Viral Rally, and Has No Idea He Just Cost His Party Control
This week, Virginia approved a redistricting plan that could help Democrats pick up seats in Congress, but in a tele-rally with House Speaker Mike Johnson to urge Virginians to vote against the measure, President Donald Trump inadvertently seemed to help the opposition the day before the results were tallied.
With the redistricting referendum passed at the polls on April 21, it could help Democrats win as many as four extra seats in Congress in the upcoming November midterms. Right now, the Republicans control the House by just a whisker, 217 to 213.
On Monday, April 20, Trump joined the opposition rally by phone, telling supporters they have to defeat the legislation.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris happily reposted a clip of Trump essentially boosting the case for passing the referendum, according to Huff Post.
“This is what they’re going to be doing with this referendum. If the Democrats, look, if they get additional house seats, at some point, if they get these additional seats, they’re going to be making changes at the federal level,” Trump whined.
Of course, that’s exactly the message supporters and pro-redistricting groups have been campaigning on for weeks as Trump’s approval rating tanks in the polls.
And social media erupted in glee and in approval of Trump’s slip-up.
California Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu jumped on the bandwagon
Lieu sarcastically chimed in with just six words, “I approve this message by trump.”
Virginians for Fair Elections agreed, “We approve this message.”
WTFGOP irreverently lambasted the president, “That’s the idea, Sherlock.”
Actor Telvin Griffin couldn’t resist rubbing Trump’s nose in it. “He’s shaking in his boots y’all!” Griffin posted on X along with two crazy laughing emojis.
The Virginia referendum will allow Democratic state officials to go around the Virginia redistricting commission and use new voting districts in the midterms, The Associated Press reported.
The irony of the redistricting battle that has played out in red and blue states around the country is that Trump started it in Texas last year, persuading Texas officials to draw up a new congressional map giving Republicans an edge and possibly additional seats in Congress.
California quickly followed suit, with voters passing a measure to redistrict and give Democrats a lead, allowing them to pick up an additional five seats.
Other GOP-led states, including North Carolina, Ohio, and Missouri, have also redrawn their maps and, with the Lone Star State, gerrymandered their way into potentially nine new GOP House seats.
Normally, states create new voting maps every ten years after the U.S. Census, which is taken in years ending in 0, such as the most recent census conducted in 2020.
But in the Virginia race, even after voters passed the measure to redistrict in the middle of the cycle, it might not be the end of it. The state Supreme Court is deciding if the plan is illegal, which could mean the vote won’t matter, according to the AP.