Obama Tears Trump Apart in Blistering Call to ‘Fight’ Back

Former President Barack Obama has reemerged in the political arena, taking direct aim at President Donald Trump’s controversial mid-decade push to redraw Texas’ congressional maps—a move Democrats say could cement GOP control of the House for years.

In a fiery 30-minute Zoom call Thursday, Obama addressed dozens of Texas House Democrats who fled the state earlier this month to block Republicans from holding a quorum. The lawmakers—now camped out in Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts—left Austin to stop a vote on new district lines that experts say would hand Republicans five more seats in the 2026 midterms.

Obama, who has largely stayed out of the spotlight since Trump’s stunning re-election in 2024, didn’t utter Trump’s name—but his target was unmistakable.

“The trend lines are dangerous,” Obama warned. “This precious democracy we’ve got is not a given. It’s not self-executed. It requires us to fight for it.”

He accused Republicans of “fixing the game” by carving up Democratic strongholds and diluting voting power. “That’s not fair. That’s not how democracy is supposed to work,” he told the group.

Redistricting typically happens once a decade, after the census. But Trump has pushed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to ram through a “simple redrawing” mid-cycle, bypassing precedent and inflaming legal scholars who say the move smacks of raw power politics.

Civil rights groups warn the proposed maps would splinter diverse urban communities into GOP-dominated districts—a tactic critics liken to “surgical voter suppression.”

“This is about silencing millions of Texans who don’t vote the way they want,” said Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus. “President Obama’s support shows the whole country is watching—and Texas House Democrats won’t be silenced by bullies.”

Joining Obama on the call was former Attorney General Eric Holder, who now leads the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. The group is bankrolling lawsuits and political campaigns to block what Holder calls “the most brazen gerrymander in modern American history” in Texas, Ohio, and other red states.

“Texas isn’t an island,” Holder said. “If Republicans succeed here, they’ll replicate it everywhere.”

Obama credited the Texas walkout with inspiring blue states to retaliate. “Because of your actions, what you’ve seen is California responding, other states looking at what they can do to offset this mid-decade gerrymandering,” he said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has already vowed to reconfigure his state’s congressional lines in direct response if Texas pushes through its new maps.

Gov. Abbott has threatened to arrest the Democrats, fine them, and even remove them from office if they refuse to return. But the lawmakers say they’re prepared to stay out of state “as long as it takes.”

Obama closed the meeting with a blunt rallying cry: “Stand up for it. Fight for it. Don’t let them write the rules to guarantee they win before the voters even have their say.”