Indiana State Senator Michael Bohacek announced Friday he would vote against Republican redistricting efforts after President Donald Trump used an intellectual disability slur, apparently shocked to discover the bigotry he enthusiastically supported might actually affect people he knows personally.
Bohacek, who proudly endorsed Trump's 2024 presidential campaign despite the candidate's well-documented history of mocking disabled individuals, expressed deep concern after Trump called Minnesota Governor Tim Walz a slur targeting people with intellectual disabilities in a Thanksgiving Day social media post. The senator's daughter has Down syndrome, a fact that apparently escaped his consideration during the campaign when Trump was busy dehumanizing other vulnerable populations.
"This is not the first time our president has used these insulting and derogatory references," Bohacek stated in his Facebook post, demonstrating a remarkable grasp of recent history while somehow missing the part where he actively campaigned for this exact outcome.
The revelation comes as Indiana Republicans push mid-decade redistricting to secure additional House seats for 2026, with Trump calling state lawmakers who oppose the gerrymander effort "RINOs" and threatening primary challenges. Several Indiana legislators have reportedly received bomb threats over their redistricting positions, though Bohacek clarified his opposition stems specifically from hurt feelings rather than concerns about political violence or anti-democratic power grabs.
Political observers noted the senator's March 2024 endorsement post, in which he praised Trump's "ability to lead our nation forward with strength, resilience, and a commitment to conservative values," apparently believing those conservative values would be selectively applied only to demographics he personally found acceptable.
Bohacek announced he would vote against redistricting until Trump "can use the next 10 months to convince voters that his policies and behavior deserve a congressional majority," setting an admirably low bar for reconsidering support of a president whose behavior he ostensibly finds reprehensible enough to oppose on principle.
