CNN Tries to Spin Census Debate, Brad Todd Brings the Facts [WATCH]

Republican strategist Brad Todd challenged CNN host Kate Bolduan during a segment focused on the political consequences of errors in the 2020 U.S. Census, highlighting how mistakes in the count disproportionately harmed red states.

The exchange took place shortly after President Donald Trump announced that he had directed the Department of Commerce to begin work on a new national census that would exclude illegal aliens from the population count — a shift that would mark a significant change in how congressional representation and Electoral College votes are allocated across states.

“I have instructed our Department of Commerce to immediately begin work on a new and highly accurate CENSUS based on modern day facts and figures and, importantly, using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Trump’s Sovereign Wealth Fund: What Could It Mean For Your Money?

“People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS,” he added.

President Trump is ordering a new census that will not count illegal aliens.

President Trump supports my bill Making American Elections Great Again Act which not only orders a new census counting American citizens only, it also orders reapportionment by the new U.S. citizen… pic.twitter.com/oQXQq6PCDQ

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) August 7, 2025

This Could Be the Most Important Video Gun Owners Watch All Year

The announcement prompted criticism from left-leaning commentators and news outlets, many of whom argued that such a move would distort political representation.

However, Todd pointed out that errors in the 2020 census already had that effect — and not to the benefit of Republican-leaning states.

During the CNN segment, Bolduan asked whether Trump’s new census directive was tied to redistricting.

“One of the biggest things is it helps decide Congressional maps,” she said.

“Does this have everything to do with redistricting?”

Todd responded, “It does. In fact, we know the 2020 census, the errors were almost always to the detriment of red states. Blue states like Rhode Island…”

Bolduan interrupted, asking, “Do we know that?”

“We do know that,” Todd replied.

“The Census Bureau’s own audit of its work has proven that blue states like Rhode Island were overcounted. Rhode Island didn’t lose a seat. Red states like Alabama were undercounted.”

According to the Census Bureau’s post-enumeration survey, several red states, including Texas, Florida, and Alabama, were among those undercounted in 2020.

Meanwhile, states such as New York and Rhode Island were determined to have been overcounted, which affected the apportionment of House seats.

Despite projections that Rhode Island would lose a seat, it retained both of its congressional districts following the census.

“It wasn’t all red-blue, but it was disproportionately red-blue,” Todd said, reinforcing the point that while errors occurred across states, the overall trend tilted against Republican-controlled states.

The new directive from President Trump marks a significant step in reshaping how the federal government conducts its population count, particularly when it comes to counting individuals who are not in the country legally.

Trump previously attempted to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census during his first term, a move that was ultimately blocked by the Supreme Court.

Now, by seeking to conduct a new census that includes only legal residents, the administration aims to ensure that congressional districts and electoral votes are based solely on the legal population, not bolstered by illegal alien counts that tend to increase representation for states with sanctuary policies.

The proposal is expected to face legal challenges and political pushback.

However, red states that believe they were disadvantaged by the 2020 count may support the effort.

The Department of Commerce has not released a timeline for the new census process.

The 2020 census was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and faced logistical and reporting challenges, which the Census Bureau later acknowledged led to accuracy issues.

As redistricting continues to be a central issue ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, the debate over census methodology and population representation remains at the forefront of national politics.