NYT columnist insanely likens Trump support of redistricting to WWI use of mustard gas on civilians

A World War I comparison meant to demonize redistricting instead found a New York Times columnist leading social media to conclude, “There is something very wrong with these people.”

Late last week, California Democrats presented a gerrymandered congressional district map aimed to, as California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) put it, “neuter and neutralize what is happening in Texas.” So naturally, the process dating back to America’s earliest years found President Donald Trump as corporate media’s central villain as the Times’ David Brooks compared Texas’ actions to the use of mustard gas.

Appearing on “PBS NewsHour” with host Amna Nawaz alongside political analyst and MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart, Brooks turned to comment on the topic, which found him saying, “Let’s do a little ethical experiment here. In World War I, the Germans used mustard gas on civilians, and it helped them. Do you then decide, okay, we’re gonna use mustard gas on civilians? What Trump ordered Abbott to do in Texas is mustard gas on our democracy.”

PBS’ David Brooks likens Trump redistricting effort to Germans attacking civilians in WW1: Says Trump ordered a “mustard gas” attack on democracy.

It’s a real mystery why taxpayers didn’t want to continue subsidizing this flaming garbage. pic.twitter.com/Q6VYF20dd6

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) August 17, 2025

“Some people would feel, okay, that was terrible, we have to fight back … It’s horrible, but we’re gonna fight back because that’s war,” he went on as Nawaz presented the “by any means necessary” argument. “Gavin Newsom is leaping into this with both legs. And to me, there’s a moral stain that will accompany anybody who does this. Because basically, they are destroying our democracy. You don’t let politicians pick voters; you let voters pick politicians. And the people who oppose gerrymandering, they’re the ones defending democracy.”

Brooks continued, “What’s gonna happen is that we’re gonna have a race to the bottom, where it’s in the middle of — and I fully grant you that Trump started it, so I’m not saying it’s totally morally equivalent — but there’s a moral stain, and what’s gonna happen is people are gonna say, it’s those politicians.”

“And loss of faith in the system, loss of faith in democracy, and literally less democracy. Because if you are a Texas voter or a California voter, or if New York does it or Missouri does it, all the states that are going to do this, you are literally disenfranchising people because you can pick the district so carefully that the voters don’t matter so much,” concluded the columnist before Capehart contended there was a “big difference” between the red and blue states claiming voters had had no input in Texas despite the House providing opportunity for public comment while California placed the measure on the ballot.

As was so often the case, anti-Republican hyperbole escalating to claims of fascism or evil came as little to surprise many who were quick to remind that district maps were public knowledge and it was readily apparent that both parties had had their fill of tweaking borders to their favor since the early 1800’s when the term gerrymandering was coined after Founding Father Elbridge Gerry.

Still others took shots at PBS and the arguments presented, contending, as one social media user put it, “There is something very wrong with these people.”

Do they really think the American people can’t just look up the states and the representation numbers and do the math on which party does more gerrymandering?

It is not the Republicans

— Brian Keith Tinney (@TaboohBKT) August 17, 2025

Their hyperbole is off the charts.

— pmcall Pardon Assange, Snowden & Ver – FreeAafia (@pmcall) August 17, 2025

As they continue to lose ground, their rhetoric has become more unhinged and transparent.

— MJ (@msmarcijoy) August 17, 2025

The sky is falling, again.

— Elvis Knevil (@ElvisKnevil) August 17, 2025

Trump started it? Have you seen IL, MA, and other blue states? GTFO.

— VikesCountry (@VikesCountry) August 16, 2025

I didn’t here any noise from him when Kamala Harris was installed as a presidential candidate. No vote , just mustard gas on the Democratic Party.

— Matt (@matt44_1) August 16, 2025

There is something very wrong with these people.

— Sydney Carton, Esq. (@pmags30) August 16, 2025

Staff Writer

Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn’t researching current events and their impacts, you’ll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.

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