‘Please Learn Math’: Newsom and Ted Cruz Trade Insults After Texan Flubs Jab at California Redistricting Threat

 
Newsom and cruz

AP photos

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) traded jabs this week after Newsom called out Cruz for a mathematical error the Texas Republican made while trying to attack Newsom’s threat to gerrymander California.

Newsom has led the charge in recent weeks to fight back against the Texas Republicans moving to redraw the state’s congressional map to net the GOP five more seats in Congress – something President Donald Trump has urged.

Cruz responded to Newsom’s redistricting threat with one of his own on Wednesday, writing, “If California gerrymanders from its current 43-9 Dem advantage (83%) to a 51-0 Dem advantage (100%)…
…then Texas should go from a 24-14 GOP advantage (63%) to 38-0 (100%).”

Newsom caught a small issue with Cruz’s math and hit back:

43+9=52
51+0=51
Please learn math.

Cruz then deleted his post and fixed his math, prompting Newsom to write, “Ted Cruz treating his posts like Cancun: Gets caught, then disappears.” Newsom’s reference to Cancun hits back at Cruz’s 2021 flight to Mexico to escape extreme cold and infrastructure failures in his state, which he later blamed on his daughters.

Cruz fought back on Thursday, writing:

Like all charlatans, @GavinNewsom resorts to insults & distractions to hide the truth.
Gavin, 2 Qs:
1) why do the 38% of CA Republicans deserve ZERO representation?
2) if CA goes to 100%, why shouldn’t TX?

Newsom vowed on Tuesday that he would go ahead and try to redraw California’s congressional map after Trump and Texas Republicans ignored his deadline to back down. “DONALD ‘TACO’ TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, ‘MISSED’ THE DEADLINE!!! CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE ‘BEAUTIFUL MAPS,’ THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!),” Newsom wrote on X, trying to mock Trump’s social media style.

“BIG PRESS CONFERENCE THIS WEEK WITH POWERFUL DEMS AND GAVIN NEWSOM — YOUR FAVORITE GOVERNOR — THAT WILL BE DEVASTATING FOR ‘MAGA.’ THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! — GN,” he concluded.

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Alex Griffing is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Send tips via email: alexanderg@mediaite.com. Follow him on Twitter: @alexgriffing