Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans are working on a plan that “makes Watergate look like forgetting a library book,” according to the president’s ex-lawyer.
Former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen on Friday published an article titled, “Redistricting Is The New Trump Coup,” in which he argues, “Trump doesn’t need votes when he’s got lines.”
“These aren’t congressional districts; they’re kill zones for democracy. The GOP helped build this, and now it’s swallowing them,” the ex-lawyer wrote. “So here we are again; President Trump, the man who couldn’t find Kansas City on a map, is now redrawing the entire damn thing. Because when you can’t win by persuading voters, you rig the district lines, pack the courts, and pray no one’s paying attention. Welcome to the next phase of the American heist; a mid-decade redistricting scheme so brazen, it makes Watergate look like forgetting to return a library book.”
He continues:
“This time, the scam is centered in Texas, where Trump is pressuring Republicans to shred the current congressional map like it’s a non-disclosure agreement. Why? Simple. He wants five more seats in Congress, and he wants them now. Never mind that redistricting is supposed to happen once a decade; he doesn’t care about timelines, fairness, or constitutional norms. Trump’s motto? If the system doesn’t work for me, I break it and call it genius.”
According to Cohen, however, there is actually a “twist.”
“But the twist? Even some Republicans are panicking. Not publicly, of course; they’re still too scared to speak his name unless it’s on bended knee, but behind closed doors, they know what’s coming,” he wrote. “Members like New York’s Mike Lawler and California’s Kevin Kiley are sweating because they understand what this stunt really is: political suicide dressed up as strategy. Today it’s Austin. Tomorrow it’s Albany. And guess whose districts get carved up in retaliation?”
This, according to Cohen, is different.
“Unlike past cycles, where GOP members practically body surfed toward Trump for a hit of MAGA mojo, what we’re hearing now is… crickets. Or worse; resentment,” he wrote. “Because Trump isn’t just redrawing maps, he’s drawing targets on their backs. And for guys like Lawler, already holding on by a thread, this isn’t a game. It’s their job. Their seat. Their political life.”