NYT Columnist Equates Trump-Backed Redistricting to Germans Using ‘Mustard Gas’ on Civilians
New York Times columnist David Brooks recently compared redistricting efforts supported by former President Donald Trump to chemical warfare. During an appearance on PBS This Week with host Jonathan capehart, Brooks likened Trump’s directives for redistricting in Texas to the use of mustard gas on civilians in World War I, describing it as an attack on democracy. He acknowledged that while Trump initiated these efforts, similar tactics are being employed nationwide by various states to manipulate electoral districts, which he said will lead to a loss of faith and reduction in democratic participation. However, the article criticizes Brooks for singling out Republican-led redistricting while ignoring gerrymandering efforts by Democrats in states like Illinois, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and new Mexico, where disproportionate political control exists despite significant minority voter support for Republicans. The piece also highlights concerns about PBS’s editorial neutrality, given the lack of pushback on Brooks’s extreme analogy.
New York Times columnist David Brooks compared redistricting efforts backed by President Donald Trump to chemical warfare.
Brooks made the claim during an appearance on “PBS This Week” over the weekend with host Jonathan Capehart.
The discussion centered on ongoing redistricting battles in Texas and other Republican-led states.
Brooks commented, “Let’s do a little ethical experiment here.”
“In World War I, the Germans used mustard gas on civilians, and it helps them. Do you then decide, okay, we’re going to use mustard gas on civilians?” he continued.
“What Trump ordered Abbott to do in Texas is mustard gas on our democracy,” Brooks said.
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
He then commented on what he categorized as a nationwide “war” to redistrict while addressing Capehart.
“I fully grant you that Trump started it, so I’m not saying it’s totally morally equivalent, but there’s a moral stain,” Brooks said.
He then predicted a coming “loss of faith in democracy, and literally less democracy.”
Brooks added, “Because if you are a Texas voter or a California voter, 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.”
This is The New York Times’s so-called conservative spinning the truth and equating fairness in representation to genocide.
Illinois gerrymandered itself into one-party rule years ago. Democrats there hold 82 percent of congressional seats with only 37.7 percent of registered voters, according to the Independent Voter Project.
Illinois is one of the most gerrymandered state in the nation and it isn’t close. I particularly love how they managed to create the 13th district to get a Dem district out of a deep red area. https://t.co/yBQSqlhoBH pic.twitter.com/Jn93ovOQWw
— David Chavous (@DACDAC4DAC) August 3, 2025
Massachusetts? Democrats hold all nine House seats despite Trump winning 37 percent of the vote.
Connecticut? Democrats hold all five seats with Trump at 41.9 percent.
New Mexico? Democrats hold all three, with Trump at 45.9 percent.
Yet Brooks never equated the Democrats behind the maps to war criminals.
This PBS segment, and the fact that no one pushed back on Brooks, is why Republicans fought to end taxpayer funding for the network.
PBS was once an important part of the country’s discourse, and it actually made programming that educated children.
The most absurd part of Brooks’ comments is the fact that the official PBS X account claims, “PBS’s editorial independence is central to our work and will never change. We produce trustworthy content that features unbiased reporting.”
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