CNN “journalists” have been tying themselves in knots recently as they tried to gaslight Americans with lies about how their Democratic Party supposedly didn’t gerrymander their states. There was yet another example of this narrative during Tuesday’s Inside Politics as senior reporter Aaron Blake falsely suggested that Democrats were in a bad spot in the gerrymander arms race because they selflessly hamstrung themselves. Referencing comments Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) made to CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday, host Dana Bash paraphrased his argument. “… Republicans having the advantage nationwide, with legislatures where they can -- if they want to continue this power play, gobble up more secure Republican seats. They can do that.” Adding: “And just one example, the one place, California, which we've been talking about, which has the potential, potential to add more Democratic seats, they don't have a lot to work with. Already there are 43 Democratic seats, there are only nine possibilities on the GOP side.” Of course, Bash left out the part where Abbott called out how blue states like California, New York, and Massachusetts had “already gerrymandered” as much as they could. But Blake had his own “very good reason” for why Democrats were going to have a hard time with pushing their gerrymandering efforts.     According to Blake, Democrats were so well meaning that they intentionally hamstrung their own ability to eliminate Republican representation: [A] lot of these blue states have instituted these redistricting commissions like we have in California. That if California wants to respond in kind, they need to get voters to sign off on basically allowing the Democrats to gerrymander. I mean, that's a very difficult proposition, no matter how Democrats are spinning this right now, and so Republicans are basically saying, look, if you want to go hard at this, we'll do that because we can win this battle and we can draw more seats than you. But those commissions weren’t as nonpartisan as Blake would like CNN viewers to believe. As New York Congressman Mike Lawler (R) told Tapper (linked above), New Jersey’s purportedly "independent redistricting commission" said “Republicans got to draw the map last time. So I'm going to give it to the Democrats.” Blake also lamented that Republicans had such strong representation around the country that they controlled much more of the state governments: Yeah. Look, I mean, this was a standoff that was perhaps inevitable in some ways, and there's a very good reason for that. It's because Republicans have superior control over this process, and so to the extent they were willing to get a little bit more Trump and a little bit more brutal in their political tactics, forcing this kind of a redistricting arms race was likely to accrue to their benefit. They control so many more districts across the country that's in part because they control more of the state governments cross country… When looking at Democratic states that limited Republican representation in Congress, five states stood out (Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Rhode Island) in that the GOP made up a third or more of the electorate but held ZERO seats in the House. New Mexico was particularly egregious in that Republicans represented nearly half the electorate (44%), and yet they held zero of the three seats.     Tell us more Aaron about how selfless Democrats are in hampering their gerrymander ability. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: CNN’s Inside Politics August 12, 2025 12:23:11 p.m. Eastern (…) BASH: And what Governor Abbott said about Republicans having the advantage nationwide, with legislatures where they can -- if they want to continue this power play, gobble up more secure Republican seats. They can do that. And just one example, the one place, California, which we've been talking about, which has the potential, potential to add more Democratic seats, they don't have a lot to work with. Already there are 43 Democratic seats, there are only nine possibilities on the GOP side. AARON BLAKE: Yeah. Look, I mean, this was a standoff that was perhaps inevitable in some ways, and there's a very good reason for that. It's because Republicans have superior control over this process, and so to the extent they were willing to get a little bit more Trump and a little bit more brutal in their political tactics, forcing this kind of a redistricting arms race was likely to accrue to their benefit. They control so many more districts across the country that's in part because they control more of the state governments cross country, but it's also because a lot of these blue states have instituted these redistricting commissions like we have in California. That if California wants to respond in kind, they need to get voters to sign off on basically allowing the Democrats to gerrymander. I mean, that's a very difficult proposition, no matter how Democrats are spinning this right now, and so Republicans are basically saying, look, if you want to go hard at this, we'll do that because we can win this battle and we can draw more seats than you. (…)

While much of the liberal media coverage about President Trump’s federalizing of Washington D.C.’s police and deployment of the National Guard has been negative and dismissive of crime in the capital, CNN’s Kasie Hunt provided a welcome respite Tuesday as she spent nearly 11 minutes on The Arena thoroughly grilling D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb (D) over the city’s soft-on-crime policies about youth crime, truancy in schools, no-cash bail, and retail theft. She started with a basic question about why he’s been far more forceful in condemning President Trump’s move compared to Mayor Muriel Bowser. This drew a laughable answer: Hunt took that pat-on-the-back answer and pushed back. Incredibly, Schwalb doubled down: Following two attempts to have him answer whether he’ll sue the President, Hunt read two headlines to represent the level of depravity being committed on city streets by teens well below 18 years old: Schwalb’s answer was remarkable in its tone-deafness: Thankfully, Hunt didn’t do what’s often the case in legacy media by asking a tough question or two and then moving on. Hunt next shifted to an exhaustive work of investigative journalism by The Washington Post about the state of D.C. Public Schools. Notice Schwalb seemed completely unprepared to offer anything of substance: No-cash bail was next on Hunt’s hit list: “One other thing I wanted to ask you about is this cashless bail that the President brought up from the podium. Does that policy make it harder for D.C. officials to hold repeat offenders, people that the city knows have been behind previous crimes in the city? And do there need to be any changes to that policy?” Schwalb refused to offer any chance of common ground with the President, thus putting himself on par with those up in New York City: Showing the seriousness of the issue, Hunt pulled out yet another issue and perhaps the most glaring one to anyone who’s visited D.C.: retail theft. Hunt cited the desolate nature of CVS’s in the city as perhaps the worst example (click “expand”): HUNT: How do you look at the connection if — if you think there is one between violent crime and a perceived acceptability of petty crime? I don’t know if you’ve tried to buy a razor blade or some deodorant at a CVS in the District of Columbia lately, but it’s a lot harder than it used to be. They’re all under lock and key. There have been some CVS pharmacies that have closed in various parts of the city because this is such a problem. Would you like to see federal resources help fight petty crime to try to send a message? SCHWALB: I think that we’re ever additional resources can be brought to holding people accountable. We ought to look for ways to do that. I believe in respecting the law, laws matter, accountability matters and whether it’s a petty crime or a violent crime, people need to know that the rules matter and that they’re going to be fairly and uniformly enforced. And certainly, when we’re talking about communities and businesses that are adversely impacted by petty theft causing them, perhaps, as you suggest, to leave the neighborhoods, that has huge adverse impacts on people. So, my view is, if the federal government wants to assist and partner with the District of Columbia, we are welcome to it does not require a federal takeover or the kind of invocation of the Home Rule Act that, as I noted in the more than 50 years of our city, has never been invoked by any president. Hunt gave Schwalb a brief break by inviting him to explain “how” he “would...like to see the system here changed to allow D.C. officials to do more, to fight crime,” but closed with sound from the head of the D.C. Police Union lambasting those clinging to (possibly fudged) crime statistics as proof there’s little to see here (click “expand”): HUNT: And I’d like to play something that the D.C. Police union chairman had to say and just get you to respond to it, because I know we’ve — we’ve — we’ve been talking quite a bit about this. Let’s watch that and then we’ll talk to you. GREGGORY PEMBERTON [on FBN’s Varney & Co., 08/12/25]: Crime in the District is out of control and something needs to be done about it. This concept that crime is down is really an old trope. [SCREEN WIPE] Our rank and file officers know that we’re going call to call to call for armed carjacking, stabbings, robberies, shootings, homicides — ASHLEY WILLIAMS [on FBN’s Varney & Co., 08/12/25]: Oh! PEMBERTON [on FBN’s Varney & Co., 08/12/25]: — and the crime isn’t going anywhere. And so, we welcome the assistance And whether that’s federal agents or the National Guard, we’ll use it again. HUNT: Again, the police union chairman, what do you say to him? SCHWALB: Yeah. With due respect to Mr. Pemberton, I think his facts are wrong. I think his talking points are wrong. We know what’s happening in our city. We have more work to do. We need to all work together to reduce crime to a zero number, but we are going in the right direction, under local control, local policies, and local leadership, and we need to stay the course. To see the relevant CNN transcript from August 12, click here.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro destroyed a reporter during a press conference Tuesday about the president's takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department in D.C.Pirro was getting challenged by a journalist who cited crime data showing that the crime rate in D.C. had dropped to its lowest in 30 years. Critics of President Donald Trump's announcement to take over law enforcement in D.C. have used the stats to argue against the move.'You tell the kid who was just beat to hell and back with a severe concussion and a broken nose crime is down!' Pirro was closing up the briefing when a reporter continued to press her on the issue until she shouted him down."You said it's guns on the street that's causing this problem," the reporter said. "Are you concerned that the DOJ's funding cuts to gun violence prevention programs undermine the —" "Oh, stop it! We are putting all kinds of resources out to the street!" she interrupted before trying to walk away. When the reporter continued, she grabbed the microphone again and spoke loudly into it."It's never enough!" she said. "You tell these families crime has dropped! You tell the mother of the intern who was shot going out for McDonald's near the Washington Convention Center, 'Oh, crime is down!' You tell the kid who was just beat to hell and back with a severe concussion and a broken nose crime is down!"She added: "No, that falls on deaf ears. My ears are deaf to that, and that's why I fight the fight. Thank you."RELATED: History podcaster Dan Carlin angers fans with his response to Trump's takeover of DC police Pirro reiterated her point on social media, where she posted images of young victims of D.C. crime. "Look at these 45 victims, all 19 and under, all killed by gunfire in the last 18 months in DC and tell me that crime is down and we don't need an emergency focus on crimes of violence," she wrote. The president has suggested that he might take over law enforcement in other cities that are suffering from high rates of violent crime. "You want to have safety in the streets. You want to be able to leave your apartment or your house where you live, and feel safe, and go into a store to buy a newspaper or buy something. And you don't have that now," Trump said on Monday. "It's becoming a situation of complete and total lawlessness," he added.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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