Republicans chose to fight with 'mustard gas' — and it could 'backfire': James Carville

President Donald Trump and Republicans are essentially fighting with mustard gas with their bid to conduct a mid-decade redistricting in Texas in hopes of keeping GOP control over the House, according to Democratic strategist James Carville.

Carville joined CNN anchor Anderson Cooper on Thursday night to weigh in on dueling redistricting efforts by Republicans and Democrats. California Democrats passed a redistricting plan Thursday, with the state Assembly and Senate approving legislation to redraw the state's congressional maps, aiming to favor Democrats by potentially helping them win five additional U.S. House seats. Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to sign the plan into law, and the new maps will appear before voters in November.

The move was a direct response to Texas Republicans, who passed new congressional maps favoring the GOP at Trump's behest.

Cooper asked Carville whether he saw any "hypocrisy in that approach?"

"Do the ends justify the means?" he asked.

"Oh, I do think the ends justify the means," Carville replied.

He compared the gerrymandering brawl to fighting with "mustard gas."

"I mean, but it's like mustard gas. No one wins. If one side uses it and the other side says, 'Well, we don't have any choice,' then we're all using mustard gas," he said.

Carville then warned he's hearing from insiders that the Republican scheme could blow up in its face.

"I'm getting this a lot. This thing in Texas has some chance of backfiring because they draw in these districts more or less predicated on the 2024 vote. And there's a good chance that the 2026 vote is not going to follow the '24 model. But that's something that I'm hearing more and more of," he said.

Carville then defended Democrats in California.

"I don't blame the California Democrats for saying, 'All right, you gassed us. We'll gas you.' What it does is lead to a lot of unnecessary deaths, and it's a terrible thing for the political system. But I agree with President [Barack] Obama. That's all you can do," he concluded.

"It's a sign of the times," Cooper replied.

Watch the clip below or at this link.