Former NBC host Chuck Todd warned that the United States is heading towards a “cold civil war,” as political battles over redistricting intensify in states like Texas and California.Speaking on The Chuck Toddcast on Tuesday, Todd described the disputes as “the latest skirmish” in an escalating conflict that threatens the country’s constitutional system. He accused US President Donald Trump and the Republican Party of creating “an unprecedented challenge to our constitutional republic.”Todd believes the country is in the middle of a redistricting battle between states. He argued that governors like Greg Abbott in Texas and Gavin Newsom in California are forcing their political agendas without considering the rights of minorities, as reported by Fox News. “I hate using that rhetoric. I hate using those words, but what else are you going to describe it? We are literally having a redistricting war between the states right now, and we have governors who have decided they don’t care about the minority rights in their own states,” Todd argued. “Greg Abbott doesn’t care. If you don’t agree with Greg Abbott, he is going to force his will upon you in the state of Texas. And if you don’t agree with Gavin Newsom and how they’re going — he’s going to force his will upon you.”The former NBC host said this is not what the nation’s founders intended, blaming both political parties but identifying Trump as the main driver of what he calls a “cold civil war.”Todd claimed Trump has spent much of his presidency “bending and breaking the guardrails of the republic.” While acknowledging that Republicans have pushed aggressive redistricting plans, he warned that Democrats are now willing to break their own long-standing principles, such as support for independent commissions to counter them. He had also criticized Democrats for adopting a “fight fire with fire” approach. “The Democratic response is pretty troubling because, right now as a party, okay, as an official party apparatus, they’ve decided to frame this moment as a war, right? Okay, you got to fight fire with fire. This is an unprecedented moment, so they’re framing this as a war,” he stated. “And when you tell yourself you’re in a war, you start rationalizing things you’d normally not do that you would say is immoral or wrong or unprincipled. But hey, it’s war and all is fair in war, right?”The former NBC anchor also criticized congressional Republicans for failing to check Trump’s power. “”They’ve not lifted one finger of oversight. Not one… You couldn’t even say there’ve been a weak check on Trump. It has been no check on him at all…Guess what? The Constitution can’t enforce itself without people willing to wield those checks. All we have are words on yellowing parchment paper,” he argued.
