Reacting to yet another obstacle in his path to redraw congressional district maps to help Republicans flip Democratic seats in as many states as possible before the midterms, President Trump slammed Indiana Republicans on Sunday for not bending the knee.
It’s the latest in a series of setbacks for the Trump administration’s months-long mid-cycle gerrymandering pressure campaign, suggesting that despite early wins in Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina, the larger effort to redraw congressional lines to help Republicans hold the U.S. House might be losing steam.
On Friday, Indiana Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray announced that Indiana lawmakers would not convene for a special session on redistricting next month. Despite mounting pressure from Trump and Indiana’s GOP Gov. Mike Braun, who announced last month that a special session on redistricting would in fact convene, Bray said there simply were not enough votes to pass new maps. The Trump administration has been pressuring Indiana Republicans for months to redraw district lines in order to flip the only two seats held by Democrats in the state. Vice President JD Vance personally visited Indiana twice to try to lobby Republicans to obey Trump’s commands.
After Bray’s Friday announcement, Trump posted on Truth Social, calling out by name the Senate Republicans who refused to bow to his redistricting pressure.
“Very disappointed in Indiana State Senate Republicans, led by RINO Senators Rod Bray and Greg Goode, for not wanting to redistrict their State, allowing the United States Congress to perhaps gain two more Republican seats,” he wrote.
“Because of these two politically correct type ‘gentlemen,’ and a few others, they could be depriving Republicans of a Majority in the House, A VERY BIG DEAL! California is trying to pick up five seats, and no one is complaining about that. It’s weak “Republicans” that cause our Country such problems — It’s why we have crazy Policies and Ideas that are so bad for America,” he continued.
State Sen. Greg Goode (R) was the victim of swatting only hours after Trump named him in his Truth Social post.
Trump also called out Braun directly, suggesting that he “is not working the way he should to get the necessary Votes.”
This comes even after Braun insisted on Friday that a special session would still be convened despite the lack of votes, saying on X that state senators “need to do the right thing and show up to vote for fair maps.”
Indiana is not the only state to resist pressure from the Trump administration.
Utah’s redistricting plans fell through this month after a Utah judge rejected a revised congressional map that favors Republicans. And in Kansas, GOP House Speaker Dan Hawkins announced on November 4 — an Election Day that brought significant wins for Democrats — that Republicans did not have sufficient votes to convene a special session to consider redrawing district lines.
He’s a lame duck, he doesn’t care about the Republican Party, he’s deeply unpopular, his “policies” are disastrous, the Epstein files are coming; no wonder the Trumpian shock and awe is no longer what it once was. Once the curtain is fully pulled back, the collapse will be quick and dramatic, with all sorts of rats abandoning ship.
Well, that’s one way to find out how much sway he has in the party now. If the effort tanks, Republicans are going to have to assess how much they want their boats tied to his.
Lame Duck says what?
If he can’t threaten to instantly kick people out of the party in ‘26, that’s an enormous sea-change in American politics. That death-threat has hung over GOP districts and states for 8+ years now and has enslaved and radicalized their party. If and when it clearly goes away the world will be a much better, safer place for all of us.
Trump never cared about the Republican party except when it did his bidding like a bunch of quivering lickspittles who were afraid of their own shadows.
If it’s not benefitting Donald John Trump, it doesn’t matter to him at all.