WATCH: Dem Governor Crumbles When Confronted With Redistricting Hypocrisy

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is being accused of talking out of both sides of his mouth when he ripped Republican lawmakers in Texas and elsewhere for pushing to redraw congressional maps while simultaneously defending partisan gerrymandering in his own state, which is widely viewed as some of the most egregious in the country.

“What Greg Abbott is doing and what Donald Trump is attempting to do is to cheat mid-decade here; they’re attempting to change the map. They know that they’re going to lose in 2026, the Congress, and so they’re trying to steal seats,” Pritzker ranted during an appearance on “Meet The Press” Sunday. “So that is what these Texas Democrats are trying to stand up against. Then don’t forget the map that they put together. It violates the Voting Rights Act and the Constitution. Thank God to these Texas House Democrats.”

The governor was speaking in reference to a group of Texas State House Democrats who have fled to Illinois in order to block a vote on redistricting, as well as a number of additional legislative items backed by the majority. The Texas House – which is currently comprised of 88 Republicans and 62 Democrats – cannot take scheduled votes unless two-thirds of its members are present.

Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have taken action to potentially remove the absent lawmakers, citing previous state Supreme Court cases finding that the minority party has no right to block the majority through stunts like the one currently underway.

“What he’s doing is at the behest of the President of the United States, who is clearly attempting to, and says that he deserves to have five more seats. He’s wrong, and he’s attempting to change the game because he passed this big, ugly bill,” Pritzker said of his Texas counterpart.

“It’s hyper unpopular in Texas, among people in Texas and across the country. He knows he’s going to lose the Congress in 2026. That’s why he’s going to his allies and hoping that they can save him. And we’ve all got to stand up against this. This is — it’s cheating. Donald Trump is a cheater. He cheats on his wives. He cheats at golf. And now he’s trying to cheat the American people out of their votes.”

Republicans have responded to Democrat outrage over the new maps — which are set to draw out at least five Democrat-majority districts as things currently stand — by pointing to gerrymandering in blue states. In Pritzker’s Illinois, House Republican candidates received 46 percent of the vote in 2024, though the party only controls three of 17 seats.

The governor was confronted about this uncomfortable reality by “Meet The Press” host Kristen Welker, who noted that third-party watchdog groups have given Illinois an “F” grade on fairness of its maps, describing it as “everything wrong” with gerrymandering in the present day. “And I guess the question is, you talk about preserving democracy, how do you preserve democracy if you’re using the same tactics that you’ve criticized Texas Republicans for?” she asked.

Pritzker refused to address the point, instead referring to it as a “distraction.”

“The reality is that the violation of people’s voting rights is what Texas is attempting to do. That’s what’s wrong with their efforts right now,” the governor said. “And the fact that the President of the United States knows it, and nevertheless is asking them to do it, that is what them to do it. That is what’s wrong with what we’re seeing right now. Democracy is at stake.”