What did Donald Trump do today?

He pretended he hadn't tried very hard (and failed) to get Indiana Republicans to pass an unpopular redistricting plan.

Trump is fighting a losing and increasingly desperate battle to have Republicans keep control of the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterms. His main, or perhaps only strategy, has been to demand that Republican-controlled states redraw their Congressional maps in such a way as to make it mathematically difficult, if not impossible, for Democrats to win seats. 

But partisan gerrymanders are generally seen as unfair and undemocratic, and are extremely unpopular with voters—even Republican voters. As one Republican state legislator in Indiana put it, "My opposition to mid-cycle gerrymandering is not in contrast to my conservative principles, my opposition is driven by them. As long as I have breath, I will use my voice to resist a federal government that attempts to bully, direct, and control this state or any state. Giving the federal government more power is not conservative."

That is most likely why Trump's demand that Indiana redraw its lines to give Republicans a 9-0 majority in their Congressional delegation was roundly rejected by its legislature today. 40 out of the state's 50 Senate seats are held by Republicans, but only 19 voted for Trump's maps.

Asked about it today, Trump insisted that he "wasn't working on it very hard," before identifying a Republican state senator by name who opposed the new maps and essentially casting him out of the party.

In fact, Trump tried very hard to force the issue, even after Hoosier citizens from both parties began swamping legislators with demands to kill the redistricting plan. He sent J.D. Vance to the state twice to lobby for the gerrymander. He posted the names of specific Republicans who opposed the plan, resulting in death threats and swatting attacks against them. He promised to end the political careers of Republicans who voted against it. He even threatened to cut off federal funds for the state, punishing voters in a state he won in 2024 by almost twenty points, if it failed to obey his demands.
 

Why does this matter?

• Presidents who are not dragging their party down with their incredibly poor job approval don't have to try to rig the vote. 

• Trying to make elections meaningless before they even happen is what dictators do.