Former NBC/MSNBC political director Chuck Todd sounded a lot like CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday’s edition of The Arena on CNN. In a poor attempt to deflect attention away from Democratic Party gerrymandering in states like California and Illinois, by falsely suggesting that Republican-controlled Florida was the “worst” state when it came to redistricting practices. He also argued that the way to solve a lot of those issues was to actively gerrymander.
What caused Todd to snap at his home state of Florida was CNN Republican commentator Scott Jennings calling out far-left states like California and Illinois for their wildly gerrymandered districts. “I mean, when I look at the states like Illinois and New York and even California with the supposed independent commission where Republicans get 40 percent of the vote and only have 17 percent of the seats,” he proclaimed.
Todd immediately lashed out at Jennings, declaring that Florida far out ranked the legendary gerrymandering of Illinois:
TODD: Scott, spend some time in the state of Florida, which is the worst gerrymandered state in all of —
JENNINGS: Worse than Illinois?
TODD: Worse than Illinois.
JENNINGS: Come on.
TODD: Worse than Illinois.
“They tell you who the speaker of the House is two years in advance. It is so gerrymandered,” Todd added, conflating statehouse-level politics with the districts for federal positions.
Prior to Todd’s comments, CNN political director David Chalian argued that, “One of the greatest challenges that Washington has faced over decades has been increased partisan gerrymandering on both sides of the aisle.” “If you had a magic wand and like, could do truly independent district drawing, it would probably create a better government, more responsive to the people,” he added.
According to Todd, the closest thing to that magic wand would be more gerrymandering, citing how Republican heavy areas outside major urban population center would have to be diluted with Democrats:
In fact, be careful throwing away gerrymandering if you ever want to create competitive districts. We’re going to have to gerrymander now because the Democrats and Republicans don’t live in the same neighborhood. So, if you’re trying to create actually – you actually have to gerrymander to create. If you want to create competitive districts here.
He also lamented that there was no appetite for it in America. “If you thought there was a constituency for it…there’d be somebody wanting to be president someday who would stand up for it. And the fact that there’s no constituency for this, that is what’s been depressing me about this entire debate,” he argued.
Todd was actually upset that Democrats weren’t able to do more:
You know what, Republicans have done already in California. They’re finding $100 million to fight this. You know what Democrats have done in Texas? Go run a freaking campaign. Go run for governor, build a state party. I don’t understand how the Democratic Party, who is now angry that they’ve become — they’ve been exposed as a – as not a national party because of their weakness in pushing back in the state of Florida, in the state of Texas, in the state of Ohio.
The transcript is below. Click “expand” to read:
CNN’s The Arena
August 19, 2025
4:40:56 p.m. Eastern(…)
DANA BASH: David, your thoughts on what we’re seeing right now in Texas and more broadly with this?
DAVID CHALIAN: I mean, I think about these things on two parallel tracks. Let’s put the partisan politics aside for just a moment. One of the greatest challenges that Washington has faced over decades has been increased partisan gerrymandering on both sides of the aisle. And it has created less opportunity as primaries have been the primary political motivation, instead of general elections, for consensus building and the like.
That is — that is just a detriment to progress and governing and the like. And so, I think it would be, you know, if you had a magic wand and like, could do truly independent district drawing, it would probably create a better government, more responsive to the people.
That being said, this is — this partisan arms race. This is just the beginning. This is going to continue. And if you look at its logical conclusion across the map, Republicans hold more legislatures and governorships. They have more opportunity to squeeze juice out of what they have and what they’re in control of than Democrats do.
And at the end of the day, while yes, they may have a moral victory right now in Texas, and they think it’s set up, California and Gavin Newsom may get a victory in California if he successfully convinces the voters there. Go on to Indiana, Missouri, Ohio. The Republicans are going to be able to outrun the Democrats in this partisan game.
TODD: Well, and you go down — it’s only — we’ve already had self- sorting, which has made, you know, I in fact, be careful throwing away gerrymandering if you ever want to create competitive districts. We’re going to have to gerrymander now because the Democrats and Republicans don’t live in the same neighborhood. So, if you’re trying to create actually – you actually have to gerrymander to create. If you want to create competitive districts here.
I’m just — here’s what’s amazing to me. There is not a single prominent elected leader who has stood up and said, ‘hey, you know what? What they’re doing in Texas is wrong. And what they’re doing in California is wrong.’
And the fact that there’s nobody — and we all know how this works, right? If you thought there was a constituency for it, you’d — there’d be somebody wanting to be president someday who would stand up for it. And the fact that there’s no constituency for this, that is what’s been depressing me about this entire debate.
There is no constituency for the idea that, hey, maybe we ought to have a little more fairness in this process, regardless of the state you’re in, this idea that, ‘hey, we don’t like being marginalized in this state, so were going to marginalize voters in another state in order to fight back on marginalization.’ That’s so beyond illogical. It’s frustrating.
BASH: Well, what Gavin Newsom is, who really has the only the only one with any cards at this point, who runs a Democratic state is saying I think is not so much what they’re doing is okay, so we’re going to do it, too. It’s what they’re doing is horrible, but we’re not going to let them –
TODD: The problem is they spent 10 years –
BASH: fight without — without us.
TODD: Dana, working in another path and going, ‘oh, never mind our principles are —
BASH: They did — right. They did this independent commission that we’re talking about.
TODD: You know what, Republicans have done already in California. They’re finding $100 million to fight this. You know what Democrats have done in Texas? Go run a freaking campaign. Go run for governor, build a state party. I don’t understand how the Democratic Party, who is now angry that they’ve become — they’ve been exposed as a – as not a national party because of their weakness in pushing back in the state of Florida, in the state of Texas, in the state of Ohio.
(…)
4:45:11 p.m. Eastern
BASH: What do you think about Donald Trump asking the Texas Republicans to do this?
JENNINGS: I mean, it’s a political process and Democrats states have done this for years.
BASH: Not in the middle of the decade.
JENNINGS: He sees it as Republicans have not kept up, and he feels like the Republican Party needs to get more muscular. That’s — that’s his hardcore political view of it.
BASH: What do you think?
JENNINGS: I mean, when I look at the states like Illinois and New York and even California with the supposed independent commission where Republicans get 40 percent of the vote and only have 17 percent of the seats. I think he has a point, and I don’t know —
TODD: Scott, spend some time in the state of Florida, which is the worst gerrymandered state in all of —
JENNINGS: Worse than Illinois?
TODD: Worse than Illinois.
JENNINGS: Come on.
TODD: Worse than Illinois. Go what —
JENNINGS: Agree to disagree.
TODD: They tell you who the speaker of the House is two years in advance. It is so gerrymandered.
(…)
