‘They’re Gonna Vote on It’: John Berman Gives Terse Reply to Speaker Johnson for Claiming California Republicans Are Being ‘Disenfranchised’

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) overstated the number of Republican voters in California during a discussion about congressional redistricting, to the tune of several million, who, he said, are being “disenfranchised.”

Johnson appeared on Friday’s CNN News Central, where he discussed Governor Gavin Newsom’s plan to redraw California’s congressional maps in response to a rare mid-decade redistricting by Republicans in Texas. President Donald Trump supported the Texas measure, which creates five more favorable districts for Republicans ahead of next year’s midterm elections. Newsom and California Democrats are seeking to offset those possible Republican gains. But first, California voters must approve a ballot measure this November that would allow the state legislature to bypass an independent redistricting commission.

“I will say, there’s a big difference between what happened in Texas and California,” Johnson told host John Berman. “Gavin Newsom’s gambit, which is what it is, is going to disenfranchize millions of California voters because they all supported their redistricting commission, the Citizens Redistricting Commission. He has to traverse and trample upon or shred the state constitution to do this.”

Berman objected to the speaker’s characterization.

“They’re gonna vote on it,” he noted, “It’s not disenfranchizing if they can vote on it.”

“It is,” Johnson insisted. “Listen, 43% of the electorate in California is Republican, 14% of their delegation to Congress is Republican. They’ve already disenfranchised people. They’ve already gerrymandered. And it’s interesting to me that Democrats who have been playing politics with redistricting for decades are now trying to lecture the red states.”

Johnson’s claim that 43% California voters are Republican is a bit of an overstatement to say the least. According to state data, 24% of voters in the state are registered Republicans, 47% are Democrats, and 22% have no party affiliation.

“In Wisconsin, every year, it’s 50/50 for presidential elections,” Berman replied. “Two out of eight representatives are Democrats. So, 25%. In Utah, 37%–”

“You wanna go state-for-state?” Johnson interjected.

“Well, that’s what I’m saying,” Berman replied. “Where does it stop?”

“Well, I don’t know,” the speaker said.

Hours later, Trump voiced support for a Republican-led redistricting effort in Missouri.

Watch above via CNN.