NBC’s Welker Presses J.B. Pritzker on His Hypocrisy Over Texas Redistricting.: ‘Your State Also Drew Maps’

RUSH TRANSCRIPT:
WELKER: “Well, governor, it might be illegal, it’s not unprecedented or rare, I should say, but Texas actually tried to redraw districts mid-decade before in 2003 and the U.S. Supreme Court actually upheld the map in that case with the exception of one district. So the argument that I’ve been making is it’s not illegal though they are doing it certainly in an off year, but I do want to look at the map of Illinois. Let’s take a look at this despite President Trump winning the statewide vote in 2024, Republicans hold only three of Illinois’s 17 districts. These districts seem to be to maximize democratic advantage. What do you say to those who say it’s hypocritical when your state also drew maps to boost your party’s standing?”

PRITZKER: “Well, remember that what Texas is trying to do is, again, violate the Voting Rights Act. We didn’t. We held public hearings, legislative hearings. People attended them. They spoke out. There was a map that was put out. There were actually changes made to the map and a map was passed, and it was done at the end of the census, the dicennial census and that’s how it’s done in this country. You talk about it’s rare what he’s doing. Yes, it is. What he’s doing is at the behest of the president of the United States who is clearly attempting to, and says that he deserves to have five more seats. He’s wrong and he’s attempting to change the game because he passed this big, ugly bill. It’s hyper unpopular in Texas, among people in Texas and across the country and he knows he’s going to lose the Congress in 2026. That’s why he’s going to his allies and hoping that they can save him, and we’ve all got to stand up against this. It’s cheating. Donald Trump is a cheater. He cheats on his wives. He cheats at golf and now he’s trying to cheat the American people out of their votes.”