Writing From Exile

Like I and so many others have said before, every accusation is a confession or admission of guilt with Trump and the Republicans. Trump continues to claim the 2020 election was stolen, hoping that it will distract from what certainly appears to be efforts by him and his regime to rig the next major election. In Texas, at the behest of Dear Leader, Republicans are attempting to undermine Texas’ democracy by gerrymandering new districts so that they can add 5 new congressional seats that will be controlled by Republicans, which would cause Democrats to lose 5 districts they currently hold if they succeed. This was a direct order from Trump with the explicit goal of retaining control of Congress in the event that the majority of Americans turn against him and his party in the 2026 midterms.

This effort in Texas breaks away from established redistricting laws that mandate a census-based evaluation of districts every decade and would constitute a mid-decade change in congressional maps for the express purpose of maintaining control of Congress and subverting the democratic will of the voters. And Trump openly said he would like to do this in other states, as well. On top of this, Supreme Leader’s Department of Justice has recently contacted several states and requested access to their voter data and voting machines for reasons that are unclear as of now. It certainly seems like Trump and his organized crime syndicate are in the early stages of attempting to rig the 2026 elections so that they can’t lose power and control, regardless of how the people vote.

To be clear, gerrymandering is not new and has long since been a problem in the United States, but this feels different against the backdrop of everything else that is happening—the MAGA world backlash against Trump over his refusal to release information about Epstein, the Supreme Court helping Trump violate the constitution, the continued attacks on free speech, the deployment of troops in Los Angeles, the withholding of aid to states led by Democrats, the consolidation of power in the executive branch, Schedule F and Schedule G, the continued extortion of foreign countries (the thing that got Trump impeached the first time) through the use of tariffs, etc., etc., etc. In fact, there are too many examples to list and link to here. I could literally spend the entire day doing so.

It should be clear by now—at least to anyone paying attention—that the Republican party is openly opposed to democracy and has been for quite some time now. When they’re not openly subverting the will of the people, they’re attempting to gain control of the Federal Elections Commission, or threatening or attempting to intimidate voters or election workers. That’s, of course, when they’re not trying to outright overthrow a presidential election like they attempted on January 6th. It’s no wonder that professors who have spent their academic careers studying fascism are leaving the U.S., or that universities in the U.K. are seeing a record number of American students applying in an apparent attempt to escape the U.S. and Trump’s increasing efforts to exert control over academia.