The Missouri Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously blocked a Trump-approved, gerrymandered congressional map from being used in the midterms—and the president isn’t happy.
The Republican-approved districts were used for the August primaries, but Missourians will now vote under the prior districts, the 7-0 court ruled. One item on the ballot is whether to put in place the districts the court blocked.
Trump, 80, typed out an angry Truth Social post in response.
“The Missouri Supreme Court just ridiculously ruled in favor of changing the maps back to what they were a long time ago. It’s called, Ancient History! The problem is, according to Legal Scholars, that not only was the ruling horrible, ridiculous, and unConstitutional, but there won’t be enough time to change the map back with the Election coming up in a very short period of time,” he claimed.
“The Election Process, as usual, is being disturbed in America!” he went on, apparently without any irony. “Missouri must be able to use the map that was in effect just a couple of months ago, in the Primary. This is a Dark Day for ‘Justice’ in Missouri!”
The court determined that the districts, enacted by the Republican-controlled state legislature, were put in limbo last December after opponents submitted a petition with more than 300,000 signatures in favor of letting voters decide. Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins rejected the petition on the day of the August primary, claiming that referendums don’t apply to congressional redistricting.
The Missouri Supreme Court said otherwise.
“The referendum petition was legal, sufficient, and timely, and the secretary incorrectly concluded otherwise,” the court said, overturning a lower court’s finding.
The state’s attorney general, Republican Catherine Hanaway, said she would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming the ruling “has thrust our state into a full‑fledged constitutional crisis.”
Meanwhile on Thursday, the Maryland Supreme Court dealt Trump and Republicans a setback by allowing a Democratic-pushed redistricting measure on the November ballot. In so doing, the court reversed the rulings of two lower courts.
The measure could give Democrats a better chance at winning all eight seats in Maryland’s congressional delegation. They currently have seven.
Trump has not weighed in publicly on that development.
Trump, whose approval ratings are at or near record lows, initiated the redistricting battle by pushing Republican legislators across the country to redraw their congressional maps so the GOP could keep control of the House for his remaining two years in office. According to the Associated Press, Republicans anticipate gaining 16 seats at most, thanks to maps in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana and Alabama.
Democrats’ counters in California and Utah could result in a maximum of six seats, they say, the AP reported. An attempt to pick up more in Virginia was thwarted by the state’s Supreme Court in May, even after voters had approved a referendum. The U.S. Supreme Court also struck down a Democratic-friendly map in Louisiana.
Republicans currently hold a slim House majority, 218-214.
Polls have shown warning signs for the GOP, which traditionally hasn’t performed well in midterms when a Republican is in office.
