Trump was unable to insult his way to victory in Indiana redistricting battle

If Indiana Republican senators had any doubts about what to do with President Donald Trump’s redistricting proposal, he helped them make up their minds the night before this week’s vote.

In a social media joke, Embers He accused the state’s top senator of being “a bad guy or a very stupid person.”

“That kind of language is unhelpful,” said Sen. Travis Holdman, a banker and attorney from near Fort Wayne who voted against the plan.

He was among the 21 Republican senators who handed Trump one of the most important political defeats of his second term. vote against redistribution in Indiana. The decision shook the president’s confidence National campaign to redraw congressional maps to improve his party’s chances in the upcoming midterm elections.

In interviews after Thursday’s vote, several Republican senators said: lean against the plan Because his voters didn’t like it from the beginning. But a good rebuttal in the Midwest America’s increasingly coarse political discourseSome said they didn’t like the president’s tone, such as calling senators “suckers.”

“I mean, it’s pretty disgusting,” said Sen. Jean Leising, a farm owner from Oldenburg who works at her daughter’s travel agency.

Trump doesn’t seem to get the message. When asked about the vote Thursday, the president once again took aim at Indiana’s top senator, Rodric Bray.

“He’ll probably lose the next primary,” Trump said. “I hope so, because he has done a great evil.”

Sen. Sue Glick, a lawyer from La Grange who also opposes redistricting, ignored Trump’s threat to remove lawmakers who challenge him.

“I would think they would have better things to do,” he said. “The money would be better spent electing the people he wants to represent his agenda in Congress.”

Trump struggled to gain attention in Indiana

The president tried to gloss over the defeat, telling reporters he “didn’t work too hard on it.”

But the White House had been engaged for months with what Republican Senator Andy Zay described as a “full-court press.”

Vice President J.D. Vance met with senators twice in Indiana and once in Washington. White House aides were frequently checked in by phone.

Holdman said the behind-the-scenes message is often more comforting than Trump’s social media attacks.

“We’re getting mixed messages,” he said. “Two days before the vote, they asked Senator Bray to call for a ceasefire. The next day I received a post on Truth Social that did not sound like ceasefire language to me.”

Some of Trump’s other statements also caused reactions. For example, Senator Mike Bohacek was upset when he called Minnesota Governor Tim Walz a “retard” because his daughter has Down syndrome. Bohacek was skeptical of redistricting and decided to vote no in response.

The White House did not respond to senators’ questions about the aid but distanced itself from conservative allies who claimed Trump had threatened to withhold government money.

“President Trump loves the great state of Indiana,” spokesman Davis Ingle said, insisting that Trump “never threatened to withhold federal funds and claiming otherwise is 100% fake news.”

Regardless, Trump has struggled to gain traction despite months of pressure.

Holdman said he turned down an invitation to the White House last month because of a scheduling conflict.

“Also, it was a little late by then,” he said.

Leising said he missed a call from a White House official while he was at a committee meeting the day before the vote. He didn’t try to call back because he wouldn’t change his mind.

Former Indiana governor and Republican Mitch Daniels had a simple explanation for what was happening.

“People in our state don’t respond very well to bullying,” he said.

Senators say their voters don’t want new districts

Some Republicans reacted harshly to senators who challenged Trump.

“His life was threatened and he was nearly assassinated,” Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith wrote on social media. “All for what? So Indiana politicians can get shy.”

Beckwith said the message to the president was “go to hell.”

But senators who oppose redistricting said they were just listening to their constituents. Some believed that the unusual push to redraw districts was tantamount to political chicanery. Others didn’t like Washington telling Indiana what to do.

The proposed map would split Indianapolis into four parts and graft parts of the city onto other areas to reduce the influence of Democratic voters. But residents of small towns near the Kentucky and Ohio borders feared the state’s largest metropolitan area was gaining influence at their expense.

“Voters didn’t want this,” Holdman said.

During Thursday’s vote in the Senate, some Republicans seemed uncertain about their decision.

Sen. Greg Goode of Terre Haute said he spoke with Trump on the phone twice while discussing the redistricting plan. He declared his “love” for the president but condemned “excessive pressure.”

Goode said he would not vote for the proposal.

“I am confident that my vote reflects the will of my constituents,” he said.

____ Beamont reported from Des Moines, Iowa. Volmert reported from Lansing, Michigan.