The American Left has officially jumped the shark. On PBS’s NewsHour, New York Times columnist David Brooks launched into a bizarre tirade against President Donald Trump’s support for Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s redistricting efforts, going so far as to compare the move to chemical warfare. Yes, you read that right — Brooks likened redistricting to the Germans using mustard gas on civilians in World War I.

Brooks framed his rant as an “ethical experiment,” asking if one should adopt the same tactics as the enemy to win. He then declared that what Trump had “ordered” Abbott to do in Texas was “mustard gas on our democracy.” In his telling, redrawing districts to reflect political realities is not politics as usual, but rather the equivalent of unleashing poison gas on innocent people.

This kind of rhetoric underscores just how unhinged the anti-Trump media has become. Instead of debating policy on the merits, they resort to shock imagery designed to inflame emotions and paint conservatives as monsters. Brooks insisted there would be a “moral stain” on anyone who supports redistricting, claiming it would “destroy democracy.”

But here’s the real story: Democrats are terrified of losing their ability to gerrymander states like California, New York, and Illinois. For decades, they’ve carved up maps to protect liberal incumbents while silencing conservative voters. When Republicans fight back in Texas or Missouri, suddenly it becomes “the end of democracy.”

Brooks went on to warn that redistricting would trigger a “race to the bottom,” claiming voters will lose faith in the system if politicians redraw the lines. But voters already know the system has been rigged — and much of that rigging has been done by the Left. That’s why Trump and Abbott are stepping in: to give conservatives a fair shot after years of being locked out by Democrat machines.

Notice also how Brooks tried to cushion his rant by saying he wasn’t calling it “morally equivalent.” Yet, he still chose to equate Trump with war criminals. The double standard is glaring: when Democrats manipulate districts, it’s “representation”; when Republicans do it, it’s “war crimes.”

The meltdown also reveals another deeper fear: Trump’s efforts are working. With Abbott leading the charge in Texas, and other Republican governors prepared to follow suit, Democrats risk losing their artificially secured strongholds. That means more districts competitive for conservatives, more seats in Congress, and a stronger hand for Trump as he reshapes Washington.

Meanwhile, California’s Gavin Newsom is scrambling to push through his own gerrymandering scheme, hoping to offset the GOP’s momentum. As Brooks admitted, “Gavin Newsom is leaping into this with both legs.” For all their handwringing about “mustard gas,” Democrats are preparing to fight just as aggressively — they simply don’t want to admit it publicly.

The irony here is rich: the same Democrats who cry about “saving democracy” are the ones openly scheming to dilute Republican voters, silence conservative voices, and cement their power for decades. Trump’s fight for fair representation threatens that monopoly, which is why the Left is lashing out in such over-the-top fashion.

Comparing a constitutional process to weapons of mass destruction isn’t just reckless — it’s dangerous. It delegitimizes the very idea that conservatives have any right to govern, feeding into the Left’s broader narrative that Trump and his supporters are enemies of democracy itself.

But Americans see through the smears. They know that real democracy means voters get a fair chance to elect leaders, not maps stacked in favor of one party forever. And that’s exactly what Trump and Abbott are fighting to restore. The louder the Left screams, the more obvious it becomes that they’re afraid of losing their stranglehold on power.

In the end, Brooks’s meltdown shows one thing: the establishment media isn’t interested in fairness or ethics. They’ll say anything — even compare Republicans to war criminals — to keep the old order intact. But just like every other attack on Trump, this one exposes their panic more than his supposed “moral stain.” The real stain is on a political class that thinks democracy belongs only to them.