Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) said “all options are on the table” when it comes to redistricting and fighting back at Texas gerrymandering of its congressional map to give Republicans an advantage in the 2026 midterm elections.
“This is what people hate about politics in the first place,” Moore said on Sunday’s episode of “Face the Nation.” “The fact that the president of the United States, very similar to what he did in Georgia, where he called up a series of voter registrants and said I need you to find me more votes — we’re watching the same thing now, where he’s calling up legislators around the country and saying I need you to find me more congressional districts.”
Related: Michael Cohen Has Blunt Advice For John Bolton After FBI Raid On Home
Last month, President Donald Trump said he told Texas Republicans to redraw the state’s congressional map to help the GOP keep its U.S. House majority after the midterm elections, seemingly to prevent what happened midway through his first term when Democrats flipped the House. Weeks after Texas Democrats left the state to break quorum, they returned and the Texas Legislature passed the new map.
On Thursday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) fought back at Trump’s plan by signing a call for a special election in November, at which point the state’s voters could decide whether to approve a new congressional map in California that would likely give Democrats five new seats in Congress.
Moore said on “Face the Nation” that there shouldn’t be situations where politicians are choosing their voters instead of voters choosing their elected officials.
“We need to be able to have fair maps and we also need to make sure that if the president of the United States is putting his finger on the scale to try to manipulate elections because he knows that his policies cannot win in a ballot box, then it behooves each and every one of us to be able to keep all options on the table to ensure that the voters’ voices can actually be heard and we can have maps,” Moore said.
Related: Conservative Pundit Cornered On CNN For Touting Ghislaine Maxwell Prison Interview
After Trump referenced Baltimore’s crime rates earlier this month while speaking about deploying the National Guard in Washington, D.C., Moore invited Trump to “walk the streets” with him. Trump responded Sunday morning on Truth Social, writing that Moore’s “record on Crime is a very bad one.”
“But if Wes Moore needs help, like Gavin Newscum did in L.A., I will send in the ‘troops,’ which is being done in nearby DC, and quickly clean up the Crime,” Trump wrote in part.
According to Baltimore’s mayor, the city has seen a historic decrease in violent crime this year. Moore said on “Face the Nation” that he is against Trump deploying the National Guard to Maryland, saying it’s not sustainable and it’s unconstitutional.
“It’s a direct violation of the 10th Amendment and for a party that talks about states rights, it’s amazing how they’re having such a big government approach in the way they’re conducting public safety,” Moore said.
Related: Trump Halts Work On New England Offshore Wind Project That’s Nearly Complete
He added that it’s a distraction from Trump’s economic policies, which are making everything more expensive and harder for everyday Americans.
“We know we have work to do,” Moore said. “If one person does not feel safe in their neighborhood, that’s one too many. But we also know what tactics actually work and what tactics are just theatrics.”
In a comment to HuffPost, Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, said, “If Democrats spent half as much time solving their own city’s crime problems as they did criticizing the President for wanting to Make America Safe Again, their constituents would be much better off.”
Moore’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
