The Governor of California has issued Donald Trump with a warning to 'stand down' amid discussions on the potential redrawing of state lines.
For those unfamiliar with the controversy, the right-wing leader previously announced his hopes to see the state of Texas redistricted - a process which describes redrawing the boundaries of electoral districts.
In most cases, this is done in a bid for lawmakers to reflect changes in population, both so as to ensure that each district has roughly the same number of people, and to keep elections fair by giving roughly equal representation to each voter.
In recent years, however, with the process being used as something as a political weapon, it has since garnered the alarming nickname of 'gerrymandering', being that it can influence which party is more likely to win certain districts during an election.
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Trump has been accused of gerrymandering since proposed changed to Texas' congressional map would create up to five more Republican districts. In doing so, the Trump administration will be protecting their narrow House majority in the upcoming 2026 midterms.
Unsurprisingly, the suggestion hasn't gone down too well with a number of Democratic leaders, many of whom have publicly questioned Trump's authority to make such a call.
Amongst them is Gavin Newsom, the California Governor. You know, the icon who went viral for brutally rebuking the President using a Taylor Swift track earlier this year? Yep, that guy.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter) earlier this week (11 August), the 57-year-old's press office issued Trump with a stern warning not to go ahead with his plan for red states, claiming he'll do everything in his power to prevent any 'rigging'.
"DONALD TRUMP, IF YOU DO NOT STAND DOWN, WE WILL BE FORCED TO LEAD AN EFFORT TO REDRAW THE MAPS IN CA TO OFFSET THE RIGGING OF MAPS IN RED STATES," Newsom's team penned.
"BUT IF THE OTHER STATES CALL OFF THEIR REDISTRICTING EFFORTS, WE WILL DO THE SAME."
He concluded his sassy comment by adding: "THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!"
Pledging their support for Newsom's threat, a number of social media users took to the comments, including one who wrote: "I respect how hard this goes tbh."
Another added: "All caps was a nice touch."
On the same day, Newsom's team issued Trump personally with a damning letter, which has since been shared online on several discussion sites, including Reddit.
"Dear Mr. President," the formal note begins. "I am writing to ask you to call on the governor of Texas and other red states, who are acting on your request to draw new congressional maps through an unprecedented, mid-decade hyper-partisan gerrymander to rig the upcoming midterm elections, to stop those efforts."
The Governor went on to tell Trump: "You are playing with fire, risking the destabilization of our democracy, while knowing that California can neutralize any gains you hope to make.
"This attempt to rig congressional maps to hold onto power before a single vote is cast in the 2026 election is an affront to American democracy.
"This is not what the Founders envisioned, and California cannot stand idly by as this power grab unfolds.
"I do not do this lightly, as I believe legislative district maps should be drawn by independent, citizen-led efforts, as we have done in California for the last two decades."
Again, Newsom issued the same threat at the end of his letter.
"If you will not stand down, I will be forced to lead an effort to redraw the maps in California to offset the rigging of maps in red states," he continued. "But if the other states call off their redistricting efforts, we will happily do the same.
"And American democracy will be better for it. Sincerely, Gavin Newsom."
Despite his warnings, however, being that California - alongside a handful of other states - uses independent commissions to try to avoid partisan influence, Newsom would need to circumvent this specific legal body if he wishes to carry out his counter plan.
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, News
Rhianna Benson