00:00Now Republicans are pushing ahead with redistricting in Texas, aiming to redraw congressional lines and boost their chances in next year's midterms.
00:10While Democrats in California are fighting back with their very own plan, Texas could see up to five new GOP leaning seats and similar battles do loom in Florida and also beyond.
00:24And amid the tight political fight, President Trump is also planning to deploy National Guard troops to Democratic-run cities like Chicago, sparking criticism from state leaders who call it an abuse of power.
00:40Michael, let's start with you. There was a lot of information in my introduction there, but this is quite confusing, but there's a lot going on.
00:51So what's your take on all of this and why is the redrawing of a map essentially happening and causing so much outrage?
01:01So Donald Trump's been elected for four years. What he wants to make sure is that he has the same mandate in the second half of that four year period as he does currently.
01:10In November 2026 is the midterms. There are certainly Democrats who would like to think that maybe because some of Donald Trump's policies might not be so popular that they would perhaps vote for Democrats in the House and in the Senate.
01:28What Donald Trump wants to do is he's going to one of the biggest Republican states, Texas, which is also one of the biggest states.
01:36And he's saying to the governor, Governor Abbott, I want five more Republican seats.
01:43So traditionally, and this is the big issue, traditionally what will happen is at the end of each decade after a census in the states, there will be redistricting.
01:51Everybody does that. That happens all the time. What's happening this time, however, is that it's happening mid-decade.
01:59And that's what is offending and bothering Gavin Newsom in California.
02:04But everything offends and bothers Gavin Newsom.
02:06So, again, I've said this to you once before, I'm not going to editorialize with Gavin Newsom, but he does make a valid point that if the Democrats are essentially going to break what is in politics an unwritten rule, then he's not going to do the same thing.
02:27He actually has to go to the people, hold a referendum and ask if the residents of California want to go down that road.
