MSNBC’s Jen Psaki delivered a factually challenged monologue on Wednesday’s The Briefing. As Psaki tells it, if the Supreme Court rules that race-based gerrymandering in the form of majority-black districts is unconstitutional, it will be helping Republicans “rig” elections by allowing them to racially gerrymander themselves 19 additional House seats. Of course, that makes zero sense, but this is MSNBC.
Psaki wailed, “So, with an unpopular agenda, it's no surprise that Trump and his merry band of MAGA followers is now using this moment to try to game the system and disenfranchise voters. This was the scene outside the Supreme Court today. People standing up in support of voting rights. Signs all over the place.”
Nobody’s voting rights are at risk. What is at risk is the idea that some voters are entitled to have their preferred candidate win.
However, Psaki then falsely claimed, “Well, inside the Court, justices heard oral arguments in a case that could further erode the landmark protections of the Voting Rights Act. The case could allow the Court's conservative majority to essentially legalize gerrymandering by race, allowing Republicans to pick up a ton of congressional seats in the process. Here's how Justice Sotomayor spoke about the implications of doing just that.”
Fact-check: If the Court overturns Section 2 of the VRA, racial gerrymandering will be outlawed.
Sotomayor’s soundbite was even more insane because she claimed, “What you're suggesting is that people of one race—blacks in Louisiana—who will have to be 51 percent of the population before they'll be able to elect another black candidate. [jump cut] That means blacks never have a chance, no matter what their number is, until they reach more than 51 percent.”
Even today, majority-black districts do not always elect black representatives and, of course, black people get elected in non-majority-black districts.
However, Psaki reacted, “I mean, it also kind of says a lot that the plaintiffs who originally brought the suit described themselves as ‘non-African American voters’ who have been discriminated against. And yet the conservative majority in the Court appear to be leaning toward a decision in their favor.”
The truth is Psaki supports racial gerrymandering if it favors Democrats and is worried that her party may lose about five percent of the entire House it is currently legally entitled to with Section 2, “Just to give you a sense of what that would mean for our country. This is what the congressional map of the southeastern United States currently looks like. And this is what it could look like if the Court lets Republicans redraw their maps with[out] these Voting Rights Act protections. In all, Republicans could pick up as many as 19 congressional seats if the judges rule in their favor.”
She further added, “That's not 19 seats Republicans win by convincing voters to support them because their agenda is better. It's 19 districts where Republicans would basically have a built-in advantage. And this comes as Republicans are already rigging congressional maps or trying to rig them in seven different states, and they're actively undermining any democratic check on their power in the process.”
As it currently stands, those seats mean Democrats automatically start any election cycle with a 19-0 advantage without having to convince anyone of the benefits of their policies. If Democrats can’t win with a 19-seat "built-in advantage," maybe they should look in the mirror before attacking the Supreme Court.
Here is a transcript for the October 15 show:
MSNBC The Briefing with Jen Psaki
10/15/2025
9:03 PM ET
JEN PSAKI: So, with an unpopular agenda, it's no surprise that Trump and his merry band of MAGA followers is now using this moment to try to game the system and disenfranchise voters. This was the scene outside the Supreme Court today. People standing up in support of voting rights. Signs all over the place. Well, inside the Court, justices heard oral arguments in a case that could further erode the landmark protections of the Voting Rights Act. The case could allow the Court's conservative majority to essentially legalize gerrymandering by race, allowing Republicans to pick up a ton of congressional seats in the process. Here's how Justice Sotomayor spoke about the implications of doing just that.
SONIA SOTOMAYOR: What you're suggesting is that people of one race—blacks in Louisiana—who will have to be 51 percent of the population before they'll be able to elect another black candidate. [jump cut] That means blacks never have a chance, no matter what their number is, until they reach more than 51 percent.
PSAKI: I mean, it also kind of says a lot that the plaintiffs who originally brought the suit described themselves as “non-African American voters” who have been discriminated against. And yet the conservative majority in the Court appear to be leaning toward a decision in their favor. You can see a headline from NBC that says just that.
Just to give you a sense of what that would mean for our country. This is what the congressional map of the southeastern United States currently looks like. And this is what it could look like if the Court lets Republicans redraw their maps with these Voting Rights Act protections.
In all, Republicans could pick up as many as 19 congressional seats if the judges rule in their favor. That's not 19 seats Republicans win by convincing voters to support them because their agenda is better. It's 19 districts where Republicans would basically have a built in advantage. And this comes as Republicans are already rigging congressional maps or trying to rig them in seven different states, and they're actively undermining any democratic check on their power in the process.
