Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk said Thursday that President Donald Trump’s plan to revise the U.S. Census to count only American citizens could significantly reduce the political power of Democrat-controlled states.

Kirk made the comments during an appearance on “Jesse Watters Primetime” on Fox News.

The discussion followed President Trump’s directive to the U.S. Department of Commerce to update the 2020 Census and prepare a new count that excludes illegal immigrants.

The proposal would alter how congressional seats and Electoral College votes are apportioned, which could have a direct impact on the 2026 midterm elections and future presidential races.

“President Donald Trump announcing the new census. What that would do is that would also potentially subtract 20 electoral votes from Democrats in the Electoral College system as congressional seat appropriation is directly correlated with Electoral College totals,” Kirk told host Jesse Watters.

Kirk emphasized the potential political ramifications of excluding noncitizens from the census, stating that the Republican Party under Trump is now taking an aggressive approach to redistricting and representation.

“This is smash mouth politics. You see, Democrats, they don’t hate gerrymandering. They hate losing, and they’re very afraid that finally the Republican Party, led by President Donald Trump, is one that is playing to win,” Kirk said.

Referencing the legal challenges Trump faced during the previous election cycle, Kirk said the GOP is shifting strategy in response to the aggressive tactics used against the former president.

“We witnessed Donald Trump have to face 700 years in federal prison. They were playing for keeps during the last presidential election, and now we won that election with great records and great margins,” Kirk continued.

“And now we’re just trying to redistrict a singular state to be more representative of the Hispanic population in that single state, and they’re talking about adding stars to the flag and adding Puerto Rico.”

Kirk also described the change in the Republican Party’s posture under Trump’s leadership.

“Deeper than this, though, this is a new mentality. This is not a Republican Party that is just playing for neutrality or trying to protect broken norms. Instead, we are playing to win,” Kirk said.

“We know we are up against a vicious opposition, one that might play a good game on television every so often or saying that they’re working for the American people, but, deep down, we know what they are.”

He concluded by stating that Trump’s movement represents a national effort to regain control of the political landscape.

“We know what they represent, and President Donald Trump and this movement — and you see it across the country with the resolute attitude in Texas — is that we are now going to fight fire with fire. We’re gonna play offense, and we’re finally gonna be back in the driver’s seat to save this country,” Kirk said.

According to a March report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform, an estimated 18.6 million illegal migrants are currently living in the United States.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the national population has surpassed 342 million, with population growth being driven largely by both legal and illegal immigration.

In 2022, the Census Bureau acknowledged that it had “significantly” miscounted populations in roughly one-quarter of all U.S. states.

These errors affected how congressional seats and Electoral College votes were distributed, leading to criticism from Republican officials and policy groups.

President Trump’s effort to conduct a new census that excludes illegal immigrants is expected to face legal challenges, similar to those that blocked his administration’s attempt in 2020 to add a citizenship question to the Census.

Democrats have acknowledged the political implications of including noncitizens in population counts.

In 2022, New York Democratic Rep. Yvette Clarke stated publicly that she welcomed immigration “for redistricting purposes.”

If implemented, the revised census could significantly alter congressional maps, shifting representation away from states with large illegal immigrant populations and reshaping the Electoral College ahead of the next presidential election.