Trump backs renewed push to rig the U.S. census by only counting citizens

MSNBC ^ | July 4, 2025 | Ja'han Jones

[MinorityRepublican]

Donald Trump and his allies have the U.S. census in their sights as they continue to pursue their anti-democratic visions for the country.

Touring a controversial new immigrant detention center in Florida on Tuesday, Donald Trump excitedly backed a proposal from far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., that would drastically alter the U.S. electoral map if implemented. Greene said Monday that her proposal, which she said she will introduce in the House, would require the Census Bureau to “immediately” conduct a new census — even though the census takes place every 10 years, with the next one set for 2030.

“In conducting the new census of the U.S. population, it shall require questions determining the citizenship of each individual, and count US citizens only," Greene wrote in a post on X. "Upon completion of the census, the bill will direct states to immediately begin a redistricting of all U.S. House seats process using only the population of United States citizens."

Essentially, it would be an accelerated and further-reaching proposal than the bill House Republicans passed last year, which the Senate — controlled by Democrats at the time — didn't take up.

Speaking on behalf of himself and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was standing beside him, Trump said Tuesday that they “love” the idea. He went on to frame the proposal as a response to his false claim that Democrats rigged the 2020 election by allowing “millions” of unauthorized voters to cast ballots.

DeSantis then accused the Biden administration of rigging apportionment to harm Republicans — an odd claim considering the ways the process seems to have benefited Republicans.

[Joann37]

My thoughts exactly! Imagine that, only citizens being counted in a census!

It reminds me of how JD Vance spoke to that Martha Radditz and said something like, “do you hear yourself, Martha?”

[SuperLuminal]

Rig?

MSNBC needs to be swatted like a fly...
Beginning with the communist POS Ja'han Jones...

"Clean Up" is the appropriate & legal term for the title...

[Preachin']

I cannot imagine just how many leftist laws have passed through the years simply because democrats insist on counting illegals.

[NFHale]

“Rig”????

No bias there…

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

“Shoeless” Joe Jackson sues to keep the bribe money from the 1919 Black Sox affair.

[ConservativeMind]

We should never count visitors.

Why would vacationers or illegals be included? Also, residents not citizens are not “US Population,” either.

[IllumiNaughtyByNature]

Lol. Literally thought the same, and checked for Bee

[ETCM]

that would drastically alter the U.S. electoral map if implemented

From the view of the federal government, particularly when it comes to "the electorate", and government representation proportional to the state's population, citizens should absolutely be the determining factor. Non citizens can't vote, and shouldn't have representatives in the federal government, period.

[NorthMountain]

Ja'han Jones

One of them, I presume ...

[freedomjusticeruleoflaw]

Trump is getting ready to betray MAGA on immigration. Biden wins.

[catnipman]

“Trump backs renewed push to rig the U.S. census by only counting citizens”

it’s nearly unimaginable that this is an ACTUAL headline from ACTUAL media ... too many more headlines like these are gonna put babylon bee out of business ...

[catnipman]

Ja’han Jones is an MSNBC opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog. ... enough said ...

[wardaddy]

It would be nice, but unless it could be changed, I’m pretty sure the census regulation call for counting people and not citizens
If we had abolitionist today, we could count maybe 1/2 or 3/5
That’s better, isn’t it?

[faithhopecharity]

while every generation of adults tends to criticize the youth’s new music,
I gotta say that much of hiphop is absolutely poisonous

[Dr. Franklin]

From the view of the federal government, particularly when it comes to "the electorate", and government representation proportional to the state's population, citizens should absolutely be the determining factor. Non citizens can't vote, and shouldn't have representatives in the federal government, period.

Well Radical Republican Thaddeus Stevens would have agreed with you, but the constitution requires that representatives in the U.S. House, and by extension a states presidential electors, be apportioned according to ""counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed." That was fully intended to count non-citizens such as slaves (the 3/5's Compromise) for apportioning representatives. The Blue States have just exploited that language to increase their numbers. Congress could pass a law to only count citizens, but the courts would not permit that census to be used for apportioning House seats.

Nothing in the Constitution prevents Congress from conducting a census more than every ten years, but to pass constitutional muster it must count all people, citizens and non-citizens. They can be tallied separately for informational purposes, but all people must be counted. How can Trump game the system? The feds can step up arrests and deportations in Blue States, which would cause illegals to avoid census surveyors, while moving aliens awaiting deportation to Red States in big camps where everyone will get counted. It wouldn't matter if they get deported the next day after they are surveyed, as long as they were living in that state when the census survey is done.

Of course, when the census shows how many illegals are living among us, there may well be a demand to amend the constitution to limit apportionment of representatives to the number of actual citizens, but that is not our present constitutional reality. Hopefully, people see that Stevens was correct.

[stars & stripes forever]

If Trump succeeds, there may be hope for Illinois.

[wardaddy]

The people versus citizen, argument, for now is moot
We lose

But what does matter is that we count the movement of people from blue state to red state because they will lose in the House of Representatives and we will gain

The Democrats will try to stop that

That part of the census is a winner for our side, so let’s focus on that unless you can change the law about the census

I’m not sure if the census is a constitutional issue or statutory

I’m going strictly on memory and education

[Paladin2]

Don’t count Anchor Babies....

[iamgalt]

It’s unbelievable.“

Believe it. If you will recall Trump took this issue to the SC last time and that traitor Roberts said in so many words if it wasn’t Trump raising the issue he would have ruled illegals would not be counted so he sided with the libs and they were counted.

[TornadoAlley3]

Indeed. California has 52 representatives.