Remember when the Indiana Republicans refused to play the redistricting game that’s all the rage now? The MSM covered it this way at the time (December, 2025):

Indiana Republicans withstood immense pressure from President Donald Trump, ignoring anonymous threats on their lives as they defeated his plan to redraw the state’s congressional map and dealt him one of his most significant political setbacks since his return to the White House.

The GOP-controlled state Senate on Thursday voted down 31 to 19 the map that would have gerrymandered two more safe red seats, imperiling the party’s chances at holding control of Congress next November.

What heroes, standing up bravely against the arm-twisting meanie Trump – who happens to want the GOP to win in November of 2026, unlike these members of the Indiana GOP. Were they resisting because they hate Trump, the vulgarian? Probably [emphasis mine]:

“The forces that define (the) vitriolic political affairs in places outside of Indiana have been gradually and now very blatantly infiltrat(ing) the political affairs in Indiana,” Indiana state Sen. Greg Goode, a Republican, said in his floor speech before voting against the measure. “Misinformation. Cruel social media posts over the top pressure from within the state house and outside, threats of primaries, threats of violence, acts of violence. Friends, we’re better than this.” …

Chris LaCivita, Trump’s 2024 campaign manager and adviser to Fair Maps Indiana, a dark money group that blitzed the state with ads in recent weeks, threatened retribution to Senate Republicans who voted against the bill.

“You have a state full of MAGA Republicans run by Republican MAGA haters,” LaCivita said in a pre-vote interview, mentioning Bray, former Gov. Mitch Daniels and Vice President Mike Pence. “If you don’t defend a political movement from those that stand in the way — then it’s not a movement at all — a handful of politicians in Indiana will now know what standing in the way really means.”

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better statement of why GOP voters have turned to Trump: he fights, and people like the aptly-named Goode don’t, and in the current atmosphere fighting is necessary.

Five and perhaps six of those who voted with Goode have now been primaried out, although Goode himself is the only one still standing:

Just one of the seven Indiana GOP state senators who faced primary challengers backed by President Trump over their opposition to redistricting has won his Republican primary, according to Decision Desk HQ. One race has yet to be called as of Tuesday evening. …

Incumbent Sen. Greg Goode, who represents the 38th District, is the only incumbent, so far, who has fended off a challenger supported by the president.

Both when it first happened, and now, the MSM frames the battle as Trump versus the Republican senators who bravely defied him. So do the ousted legislators themselves, such as state senator Travis Holdman, defeated by 20 points in this primary:

Well, I have one lesson for people: revenge and retribution is not a Christian value. And that’s what this is all about. And I’m not bitter about it, it’s just a fact. And there’s life after serving in the Indiana Senate, and I’m going to find out what that’s like.

Pundit Chris Cillizaa’s reaction is highly typical:

Here’s s the story of the night: Donald Trump remains the king of the Republican Party.

If he wants you gone, he gets rid of you.

Just ask the 6 Indiana Republican state senators who just lost because they didn’t support Trump’s desire to redistrict the state.

That’s the story all right, as told by the media. It’s highly insulting to the GOP voters of Indiana, who were the ones who actually went to the polls and are being considered by the likes of Cillizza as programmed robots who obey the commands of the Leader.

No, the people actually felt betrayed by their own representatives and decided to turn them out. Yes, Trump agreed with the people and was vocal about it, but the people themselves had had enough of the defeatist voting of the Pence/RINO wing. That shouldn’t be so hard to understand, but it doesn’t fit the MSM narrative.