As usual, subtlety is not the president’s strong suit.
On Monday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court released a new state Congressional map that is far more favorable to Democrats than the old, egregiously gerrymandered version.
On Tuesday morning, Trump rather predictably expressed his disdain for this change.
One striking (though not surprising) thing about the president’s tweet is that, rather than even hint at a desired outcome of electoral fairness — which most experts agree the map goes a long way toward achieving — he instead explicitly endorsed the practice of screwing over Democrats in the name of maintaining power. But that’s our Trump!
The new map means that Democrats, who currently hold only five of the 18 Congressional seats in the state despite an edge in voter registration, are poised to be competitive in the majority of districts this November.
Republicans are guaranteed to challenge it in federal court. But because the State Supreme Court ordered a new map drawn on the basis of Pennsylvania law, Trump’s plea for the federal Supreme Court to get involved is likely to fall on deaf ears.
Separately, the Supreme Court is currently considering a landmark case, originating in Wisconsin, that could curb overly partisan gerrymandering once and for all. It’s safe to say we know which side Trump — and most Republicans — fall on that one.
