Gov. Greg Abbott took to X on Election Day to make a bizarre statement: He will impose “a 100% tariff on anyone moving to Texas from NYC.” This announcement came as the self-described Democratic Socialist mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani, was projected to win New York City’s mayoral race. Abbott’s threat to New Yorkers was intended solely to impose fear, deterring New Yorkers from voting for Mamdani into office. This tactic is not isolated to Abbott or the Republican Party.
A tariff is a tax on the import of foreign goods, typically imposed by one country on others to limit those countries’ ability to sell to the government enforcing the tariff. Tariffs have been a popular talking point in the past few years, with President Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on a seemingly never-ending list of countries.
Abbott’s threat to tariff New Yorkers is baseless, as states are unable to impose taxes or tariffs without the consent of Congress per the import-export clause. Furthermore, the power to regulate commerce lies within the federal government, not the state. Abbott should not make any threats, let alone ones containing flagrant disinformation. The nation’s leaders should not tolerate this behaviour.
This is not the Republican Party’s first instance of making threats to alter election results. President Donald Trump also had something to say about the New York mayoral race in his endorsement of Andrew Cuomo. He stated in a Truth Social post, “You really have no choice. You must vote for him,” and that in the event that Zohran Mamdani were to win the race, “it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds,” to the city of New York.
Once again, in another post filled with lies, Trump refers to Mamdani as a communist, which Mamdani previously refuted. Trump continues to claim he will restrict federal funds to the city — a power the president does not possess. Instead, the power to control federal funds lies in Congress. While the president can veto Congress’ spending plans, the department can overrule that veto with a two-thirds vote in the House.
Such blatantly incorrect statements spread by the nation’s political leaders are either a sign of incredible political incompetence or an insult to the intelligence of the American people and a sad attempt at retaining control. These posts and threats are intended to fear-monger and influence their followers to stay compliant.
Petty lying and childish threats from American politicians are an embarrassment and should not be tolerated by the country’s people. Citizens should scorn and turn their backs on politicians who behave in such a manner. Politicians should not attempt to strike fear into the people that they are intended to lead. They should not try to influence elections by threatening finances.
Politicians should fear constituents: the people who vote for them. They should respect and revere those who give them power and can just as easily take it away.
