Texas Gov. Abbott threatens to impose 'tariff' on people fleeing NYC in unhinged post

[muriel_volestrangler]

“After the polls close tomorrow night, I will impose a 100% tariff on anyone moving to Texas from NYC,” Abbott posted on social media.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/texas-gov-abbott-threatens-to-impose-tariff-on-people-fleeing-nyc-in-unhinged-post/ar-AA1PKMdq

Is he trying to look dumb, to make Texan Republican voters feel seen?

Does he think that people are still purchased, and that he needs to double the price a Texan pays for a New York City slave? Or does he just wish that's what reality is?

Did he just type a few MAGA buzzwords in a grammatical but meaningless order, since there's no logic that can come out of MAGA anyway?

Does he think he has any power to impose tariffs on the flow of goods inside the USA, let alone people?

Or does this mean that if one person moves from NYC to Texas, it will be compulsory to bring a friend too?

[MaineBlueBear]

1. It's all a bunch of blather to feed the base

And they eat it up and re-elect him for more.

No policies to make people's lives better, just blather.

[GoCubsGo]

24. Yup, more political performance art.

Wanting to punish the people who did what he wanted, and are now trying to flee because things didn't go the way he wanted? It's certainly bizarre logic, to say the least.

[Trueblue1968]

57. Evil texas tryrant does not have the Authority to carry out his lying threat. He. Is. A. Liar.

[Norbert]

2. All that hate is finally eating his brain.

[haele]

31. May be the alcohol...or a bad ketemine dose.

Because assholes like him always are looking for ways to avoid realizing they're just common, weak, but really lucky human beings under all the elitist hype they surround themselves with.

[BlueWavePsych]

59. Yup

[Liberal In Texas]

3. And I suppose he thinks New York will pay it.

We have an idiot for a governor.

[mwmisses4289]

6. Unfortunately, of those that voted, too many of them seemed to think he was a genius.

[sinkingfeeling]

4. Why? If people flee NYC because Mamdani wins, isn't he taxing his own kind?

I mean they're the ones who are anti-Muslim and yelling about communists and socialists.

[mwmisses4289]

7. Are there people saying they will leave if the voters of NYC vote for Mamdani?

Last edited Tue Nov 4, 2025, 08:17 AM - Edit history (1)

Somebody mentioned that in another op, but didnt provide a link, so i thought it was one of those "i've heard some are saying they will leave" kinda things.

[OldBaldy1701E]

13. I have not read a 'first person' account of that statement...

But I have read a few articles about people saying that.

https://wjla.com/news/nation-world/zohran-mamdani-nyc-mayor-candidate-almost-a-million-people-will-flee-new-york-city-poll-kathy-hochul-andrew-cuomo-barack-obama-curtis-sliwa

https://nypost.com/2025/11/03/us-news/nearly-a-million-new-yorkers-ready-to-flee-nyc-if-mamdani-becomes-mayor-poll/ (Not the most reliable source, I know.)

https://rethinking65.com/wealthy-fleeing-new-york-from-mamdani-effect/ (Never heard of this site before, but it came up.)

https://www.thetimes.com/us/news-today/article/staten-island-new-york-mayoral-election-m93hvtw2s

(I had to throw this last one in because I found it humorous. Didn't he...?)

In late November 1992, Sliwa admitted that he and the Guardian Angels faked six early incidents for publicity. He admitted to having faked an injury while fighting rapists, the rescue of a mugging victim, and a false allegation that three off-duty transit police officers had kidnapped him. (source: Wikipedia)

A perfect representative of the rethugs.

[yardwork]

23. A million New Yorkers?!

The NY Post headline made me laugh. Imagine a million right wing New Yorkers (are there that many?) fleeing NYC for Texas.

Sounds like NYC might be paradise if that happened. And the thought of all those New Yorkers wandering around Texas! "You mean you have to drive to a grocery store?!"

[OldBaldy1701E]

55. I can't wait to see the ones who are complaining because they have to drive to their mailboxes! (n/t)

[OldBaldy1701E]

12. Exactly!

His kind of subhumans are the ones who are screaming about leaving NYC in the first place.

So, go for it, Gregory. You will only hurt yourself by doing that.

[yardwork]

20. I would think that Texas would welcome MAGAT refugees from NYC.

Texas might even get another representative or two if MAGATS relocate there.

I don't get why this would be a problem for Abbott.

[Yonnie3]

5. Tarrifs are based on the value of the item imported.

What is the value of a New Yorker in Texas? If it is less than zero (as Abbott has implied) would that mean Texas would pay you for importing them?

[fargone]

54. Exactly. 100% of what?

100% for their change of address forms? Wait that's free from the post office. maybe 100% on their new drivers license? NY DL costs twice what it is in TX so that would be no change for the transplants. Maybe if the New Yorkers ship themselves by FedEx.

[marble falls]

8. He thinks he's running for POTUS in 2028.

[Jilly_in_VA]

9. Why would anybody in their right mind

leave NYC for AbBUTT's Texass? If they do, it's on them

[Paladin]

11. The correct spelling is "Texas, " not "Texass."

And more than 4,800,000 Texans cast votes for Kamala Harris. Just something for you to consider, next time you want to consign the entirety of my native state to a piece of shit like "AbBUTT."

[mwmisses4289]

15. Many of us Texans refer to it as texass.

And yes, many of us did vote for Harris, but not enough.
There may be hope for texas, but right now, too many here are keeping it texass.

[Torchlight]

46. This native Texas refers to it as such more often than not as well.

The stink in our state runs deep and broad.

[Ilsa]

51. I do occasionally. I used to be proud

of my state, but there's so much assholery there now with the guv, the AG, and even his ex-wife. Glad I moved away. I haven't been able to recommend moving there to anyone anymore.

I heard Corpus Christi has water problems again.

[Dulcinea]

10. Isn't Roller Nazi term limited?

How soon can we get rid of him?

[Jilly_in_VA]

44. God, I hope so!

I'm sick of seeing and hearing about Gov. Hot Wheels---which, BTW, I was calling him LONG before Jasmine Crockett said it on national TV.

[Scrivener7]

14. God, these people are idiots.

[GiqueCee]

16. As I'm sure a great many Texans think to themselves...

... it's a shame that tree wasn't bigger.

[70sEraVet]

22. That's GOOD!

[Jilly_in_VA]

45. Not only Texans!

A lot of us think the tree just didn't finish the job!

[Augiedog]

17. What's actually going to happen is Texans will flee TO New York

[joshdawg]

18. abbott is just as bat-shit crazy as his puppeteer trump.

Both are nuttier than a fruitcake. And that is being as polite as possible.

[slightlv]

64. Yip... I loved his comment about suing the maker of Tylenol for all their lies and misdirections! nt

[MarcoZandrini]

19. Just who in the....

….would want to move to Texass?

Hey Abbott, your wheelchair has a flat.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

33. Musk. He did. . . . nt

[durablend]

37. Of course he did...

[70sEraVet]

21. Poor Abbott imagines he has the wit of Molly Ivins

But a thousand Abbott's working on a thousand typewriters for a thousand years, couldn't come up with this:
"He was so narrow minded he could see through a keyhole with both eyes."

[Bernardo de La Paz]

29. In some ways, Ivins was the inheritor of Mark Twain's wit. . . . . nt

[Jilly_in_VA]

47. It's a pity Molly isn't still alive

She could finish what the tree started!

[muriel_volestrangler]

56. I guess that it's his idea of a joke would make the most sense

but what's he laughing about? How stupid Trump's kneejerk "put a tariff on it!" responses are? It works when a Democrat like Newsom parodies that, but a Republican who, as far as I know, has never attacked Trump?

[bronxiteforever]

25. Did Abbott have a stroke? It is the only way

to explain this statement. I mean it’s nonsensical, it’s weird and does not display minimal cognitive ability for a person his age. I am sure his health is bad.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

30. Abbott's inspiration: "Nearly a million New Yorkers plan to flee if Mamdani is elected mayor -report"

This is what is motivating Abbott. Posted not for endorsement of the Reich Wing site or viewpoints. Posted to help people understand Reich Wing memes. Copied from a Reich Wing website, and I'm not going to the Reich Wing American (non)Thinker site to verify it.

Nearly a million New Yorkers plan to flee if Mamdani is elected mayor -report
American Thinker ^ | 11/03/2025 | Monica Showalter

Nothing says 'socialism' like people fleeing from it. This is as true in New York, Illinois, and California as it was in the U.S.S.R., Venezuela, and Cuba. But the prospect of young and dogmatic socialist Zohran Mamdani becoming mayor of New York City has taken the phenomenon to a new level.

Mamdani's lead in the polls has narrowed, but he still leads by six points. The majority of New Yorkers have split their votes between disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and peripatic safety advocate Curtis Sliwa, divving up more than 50% of the vote it would otherwise be if the two united.

According to the New York Post:

Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers are prepared to bolt from the Big Apple if socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani wins Tuesday’s mayoral race — potentially setting the stage for the largest population flight in US history, an alarming new poll warned early Monday.

Around 765,000 people of the 8.4 million residents who call New York City home are preparing to leave, with about 9% of New Yorkers sharing that they would “definitely” leave the city if Mamdani is elected the 111th mayor, the Daily Mail reported, citing a survey conducted by J.L. Partners. If those residents were to leave, it would be equal to the population of Washington, DC, Las Vegas, or Seattle fleeing the city.

Thatt's [sic] quite the advertisement for the impact of socialism, which is to say, high prices, high taxes, unequal justice, lack of representation, lack of freedom, waste, fraud, ripoffs, crime, a lower standard of living, and a crummy, corrupt nomenklatura elite growing rich off the people who have to work for a living. Those are the 'fruits' of socialism, everywhere it is tried.

A note about polling: there are about 10% of any sample who will agree with any proposition, no matter how stupid. They will do so because they a) want to please the pollster / polling group, or b) don't understand the question, or c) just want to ratfuck the poll.

[mwmisses4289]

53. Oh, a poll. Sample size maybe what..1-2 thousand people?

And the pollsters extrapolated that to almost a million people?
Somehow, I don't think that many will leave.

[Prairie Gates]

26. Wouldn't most of the people "fleeing" NYC for Texas be Republicans anyway?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

27. 1) You can only tariff possessions (slaves), not citizens.

1) You can only tariff possessions (slaves), not citizens.

2) Abbott thinks wives and children are possessions.

3) You'd think Abbott would welcome "patriots" fleeing the "communist", but he has shit for brains

[Jbraybarten]

28. What a clown. Will do nothing, but the rant scores points with the red hats.

[Emile]

32. Move to that polluted wasteland. Lol 😆

[mn9driver]

34. Right wing buzzwords.

The MAGA propaganda universe has become so all encompassing for those who subscribe to it, that they can rant in a kind of hateful shorthand now.

People who get their news and information via normal channels see and hear disconnected nonsense. But inside the MAGA universe, everyone knows exactly what Abbott is saying.

[underpants]

35. I thought Texas and Oklahoma were bragging about people and companies moving there

From “blue states” like California and New York

[Johonny]

36. The GOP turned Texas into a shithole country

The only people leaving NYC for it are the type that move to Russia because Putin is so tough on the guys type . . . You know complete morons.

Texas was last great under Richard's, but that was ages ago. Basically a completely different state back then.

[Attilatheblond]

38. Isn't there a lil thing in the US Constitution regarding interstate movement & commerce?

But this is the clown who thinks he can prevent women from traveling or mailed packages coming into TX.

[dalton99a]

39. Pathetic. POS forgot to add "Thank you for your attention to this matter"

[surfered]

40. Drought, water shortage, electricity prices skyrocketing, but this is how he spends his time.

[jls4561]

41. Times Square's famous Naked Cowboy has said he has considered moving to Texas in order to run against Abbott,

but found that the time and expense to legally change his name to Nekkid Cowboy on the ballot was just not worth the effort.

[2naSalit]

42. Somehow...

I just can't picture New Yorkers fleeing to fucking texass.

[UT_democrat]

43. I have no choice then

I will now be imposing, a 106% tariff on all red state governors who act like fucking assholes

[BannonsLiver]

48. Is Wheels losing it like Trump?

[peggysue2]

49. Just another MAGA Republican having . . .

a temper tantrum over Mamdani's anticipated win tonight. They've coined the name Zohranista's for the man's supporters and are predicting the end of the world.

There's true irony there for those who can still perceive it.

[Farmer-Rick]

50. Oh yes, please MAGATs flee New York and

Go to Texas to pay Abbott his due....

[Ilsa]

52. Yeah, because those Texas summers are so pleasant!

And some years, summer starts in April and lasts right up to Christmas! And don't pray for a rainy day there: you might get a Cat. 5 hurricane instead, with no electricity for just a month or two, just like summer camp. Which reminds me of the old Morton Salt box: when it rains, it pours!

[Samael13]

58. How do you tariff people

[hunter]

60. Wait a minute... isn't Trump from New York?

I guess Trump won't be going to Texas when it comes time for him to hide.

[DFW]

61. And when that's done, the next piece of vital legislation

Any New Yorkers wishing to move to Texas will have to go before a linguistics board And prove they can speak with enough of a Texas drawl so as not to stand out.

Abbott has called it his "With Drawl" bill.

[IronLionZion]

62. How do you assess the value of a person?

A conservative voter fleeing NY to Texas might be worth 0. Multiplied by 100% would still be 0. So they can pay $0 for the tariff.

MAGAts think they can tariff people

Liberal New Yorkers would likely stay for the socialism. It would be conservatives who want to escape before they are sent to Siberian gulags.

[iemanja]

63. A tariff on people?

WTF is wrong with these idiots?