Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) is making light of an X poll asking if Florida should impose tariffs on New Yorkers relocating to the state or consider building a wall in response to the election of Zoran Mamdani in New York City.
Following Mamdani’s candidacy announcement by major news outlets, DeSantis conducted a poll on X, querying residents about how Florida should respond to Mamdani’s election. He offered three potential actions: constructing a border wall, imposing tariffs on newcomers, or actively recruiting new residents.
As of now (with 31,735 votes counted and about 12 hours remaining), 48.8% of participants have opted for building a wall, while 37% preferred imposing tariffs on new arrivals, and 14.2% supported recruiting new transplants.
DeSantis also reacted to a post from Florida Rep. Peggy Gossett Seidman (R), who suggested, “Florida should impose a tariff on everyone fleeing New York City, Governor @RonDeSantis!” The governor replied, jokingly asking, “Did you introduce that bill?”
Before the election, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) also made some bold declarations, stating, “After voting closes tomorrow night, we will impose a 100% tariff on anyone moving from New York City to Texas.”
DeSantis had already voiced concerns about what a Mamdani victory might mean, predicting that if the socialist candidate won, he would become “the most prominent Democrat in America” on Inauguration Day. He remarked that this could be good for Republicans but detrimental for New York City.
In a more humorous take, DeSantis shared a snippet from Mamdani’s victory speech, where the mayor-elect assured New Yorkers that “no problem is too big for government to solve, and no concern is too small for government to care about.” Quoting Ronald Reagan, DeSantis added, “I’m in the government, and I’m here to help!” referring to the former president’s view on government assistance.
With around 90.5% of the results reported the following morning, Mamdani had secured 50.4% of the vote, compared to former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 41.6%.
