Tennessee Representative Steve Cohen recently announced that he is dropping his reelection bid because of redistricting in the state. The news came alongside an emotional interview with NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo, where Cohen revealed the key reason behind his decision, a phone call from Donald Trump. Cohen has represented Tennessee’s ninth district since 2007, making this a significant end to a long political career.
Cohen explained during the interview that Republicans had repealed a 54-year-old statute that made redistricting legal in Tennessee. He said Trump had called the governor of Tennessee and asked him to comply with his request for an additional Republican seat in the state. The governor agreed, setting off a chain of events that would ultimately force Cohen out of the race.
Cohen was visibly emotional during the interview and called the situation “really bad for the democracy.” According to Mediaite, he expressed disappointment in the governor’s decision to go along with Trump’s request. Many Democrats have blasted the new congressional map as political gerrymandering, arguing that it was drawn specifically to reduce Democratic representation in the state.
Trump’s phone call has had a direct and damaging impact on Tennessee’s democratic representation
“I think it’s funny, my press conference today is the most cameras I think I’ve had since the Victoria incident,” Cohen said, referencing a past controversy where he claimed a woman named Victoria Brink was his biological daughter, only to later be proven wrong. “And here we are again. And I got tears.”
Cuomo responded to Cohen’s emotional moment by acknowledging his deep connection to the community he represented. “You’re crying because you know what your service meant to that community, and that they needed it, especially in that state, and it was taken, and was unfair, just like what happened with Victoria,” Cuomo said.
Trump has continued to face scrutiny over his actions, and he recently doubled down on not thinking about Americans’ finances, drawing further criticism from Democrats across the country. Cohen’s comments pointed to the serious impact of the new congressional map on the African-American community in Tennessee.
The new map splits the majority-Black city of Memphis into three separate congressional seats, which critics say dilutes the voting power of Black residents and makes it significantly harder for Democrats to win elections in those areas. Voting rights groups have called the move a deliberate attempt to weaken minority representation in Congress.
The redistricting process has been a deeply contested issue in Tennessee, with Democrats and voting rights groups filing multiple lawsuits to challenge the new map in court. Republicans, on the other hand, argue that the new map better reflects the state’s population and that Democrats are the ones trying to hold onto power unfairly.
The legal battles are expected to continue for some time, though Cohen has made clear that he sees no viable path forward under the current map. Meanwhile, Trump has also been drawing attention for other controversial moves, including his $400 million White House ballroom project, which has faced growing public criticism from both sides of the aisle.
Cohen’s decision to step away also raises broader questions about the future of Democratic representation in Tennessee. With Memphis now divided across three districts, the political power of one of the state’s largest and most Democratic-leaning cities has been significantly weakened. Many political observers say this is exactly the outcome Republicans were hoping to achieve with the new map.
“I’ve got a great district, wonderful people. They’ve supported me so well,” Cohen said. But with the new congressional map now in place, his 20-year run representing Tennessee’s ninth district has come to an end, the result of a single phone call that reshaped the political landscape of his state.
Published: May 17, 2026 09:30 am