CNBC host Joe Kernen told President Donald Trump on Tuesday that he was correct in claiming he won the most votes ever in Texas during the 2024 presidential election in November.
Trump received over 6.5 million votes in Texas in 2024, breaking the previous record he set in 2020 of about 5.9 million. When the president said on “Squawk Box” that he “got the highest vote in the history of Texas,” Kernen said he would need to fact-check him, telling Trump several minutes later that he was right.
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“We have an opportunity in Texas to pick up five seats. We have a really good governor. And we have good people in Texas,” Trump said. “And I won Texas. I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, as you probably know. And we are entitled to five more seats.”
Kernen said he was not aware of the fact and that he had to verify it. Trump encouraged him to do so.
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Minutes later, Kernen confirmed to Trump that his claim was factual.
“So you did get the highest number of votes in Texas,” Kernen said. “So that’s true.”
Trump was using his vote total in Texas to justify a Texas House committee draft congressional map seeking to establish five additional Republican-leaning districts in 2026.
CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten asserted on Thursday that Texas’ proposed redistricting map could result in Republicans retaining control of the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections.
“You might think five seats is just five seats, but keep in mind this — margin to spare for the House majority: in 2020, the Democrats had four seats; 2022, Republicans had four seats; this time around, two seats for Republicans out of the 2024 elections,” Enten said. “Five seats can make all the difference in the world.”
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