President Donald Trump and his most vocal supporters have long made jokes about American democracy. Trump has merrily claimed he would run for president in 2028, a move that is illegal. Steve Bannon has been more forceful and serious about this 2028 run. Even Republican politicians have tried to make a Trump 2028 run legal.
Of course, Trump’s claims that he’ll run in 2028 — whether stated as a joke or in a more serious manner — is one thing. The constitution stands firm; this would be illegal. Trump’s demands that states rewrite their congressional maps, on the other hand, are something else entirely.
The Republicans around the country are, one by one, reshaping their states’ congressional maps. These redistricting efforts have so far been widely successful. Trump’s threats have made Republicans jump to do his bidding. Unfortunately, if these maps continue to carve out Democratic areas, then Republicans may very well end America’s democracy with 2026’s upcoming midterm elections.
How States Will Become More Republican
Since Trump reentered the White House, he’s made moves to ensure that more Republicans win House elections. He told Texas to redraw congressional maps to ensure more Republicans won — and therefore, more GOP members would be in the U.S. House. Texas quickly did so.
Other states have since followed suit. This gerrymandering has taken areas that Democrats normally win and split them up, making it easier for Republicans to win. Critics of these gerrymandered maps have claimed that the GOP is illegally diluting the Black and minority votes, as Black and minority voters typically vote for the Democratic Party.
As more and more Republican controlled states reshape their congressional maps, Democrats have a lesser chance of winning the midterm elections in 2026. How could they, when these new maps manage to dilute votes that normally go to Democrats?
What’s rather interesting in all this is the fact that Americans have begun to lean left throughout the country. November’s most recent elections have confirmed this left-leaning sentiment, even in more conservative areas.
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A Blow to Democracy
Many critics have claimed that these redrawn maps are illegal gerrymandering maneuvers. A federal court has already blocked Texas from using these new maps in the 2026 midterms, claiming that the maps are, indeed, racially motivated.
However, we know the Trump administration and its ties to the Supreme Court. It seems like the president gets everything he wants. So, if this case moves up to the Supreme Court, the Court will have to decide whether it’s legal or not. There have already been signs that the Republican-led Court will side with the GOP.
Therefore, if these new redrawn maps stand, Democrats will have a much harder time winning many elections in 2026, even if the country is leaning more left.
Then, Republicans will gain a majority of the U.S. House, giving the Trump administration more power than ever before. The act of gerrymandering itself isn’t very democratic. If Trump and the GOP successfully win with these maps and take over Congress, what would happen to the remnants of our American democracy?
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