In what may be the most on-brand move of 2025, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott took to X (formerly Twitter) on the eve of New York City’s mayoral election to declare a 100% “tariff” on New Yorkers moving to Texas — a jab that instantly caught fire online and left legal scholars shaking their heads.
“After the polls close tomorrow night, I will impose a 100% tariff on anyone moving to Texas from NYC,” Abbott posted, clearly aiming squarely at the flood of blue-state refugees Texas has absorbed over the past several years — many of whom, some Texans feel, bring with them the very politics they fled.
Of course, there’s a slight constitutional hiccup: states don’t have the authority to impose tariffs. That power belongs to the federal government. Abbott surely knows this — which means this was less about policy, and more about politics. And in this political climate, messaging is king.
The timing was anything but accidental. New Yorkers were about to decide between Andrew Cuomo, clawing back political relevance via a third-party bid, and Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist whose rise has sparked alarm among moderates and conservatives alike. Abbott’s jab was a warning shot — and a signal to his own base that Texas doesn’t want to become the next New York.
President Trump chimed in as well, dropping a Truth Social post that made it clear: a Mamdani-led New York would not be getting much love — or money — from a Trump-led federal government.
“It can only get worse with a communist at the helm,” Trump wrote, vowing to limit federal funds to New York to the bare legal minimum should Mamdani win. He then hit Mamdani where it hurts: his resume.
“He was nothing as an assemblyman, ranked at the bottom of the class,” Trump declared, adding that Mamdani “has no chance” of reviving New York’s former glory.
It’s a harsh assessment, but one that echoes widespread concerns about Mamdani’s agenda — a sweeping slate of far-left proposals ranging from rent freezes to city-run grocery stores to a free public transit system. Critics say it’s a wish list unmoored from fiscal reality; supporters claim it’s the future of urban governance.
Tariffs may be symbolic, but the cultural border between states like Texas and cities like New York is becoming all too real.
