Back in September, before President-elect Donald Trump emerged victorious in the 2024 election, New York State Senator Liz Krueger (D) floated the idea of withholding taxes from the federal government and then eventually seceding so as to join Canada, along with several other states in the region, to form a southwest province. Her comments, in response to Trump's plans for mass deportations of illegal immigrants, have since resurfaced.
On Wednesday, Fox News did a segment on Krueger's remarks, quoting her as saying, "...instead of all of us trying to illegally cross the border at night without them noticing, which is pretty hard because there's a lot of us, that they should instead agree to let us be the southeast province, a new province of Canada... New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, would combine and be a great new province as the southeast province of Canada... Basically everybody in these states are progressive Democrats. We would fit in pretty well with the political philosophy of at least most of the Canadian elected officials."
Such a statement truly reflects a break from not just the union, but also from reality. While Vice President Kamala Harris did beat Trump in all of those states, it was hardly by impressive numbers compared to previous Democratic nominees, especially in Krueger's own state of New York. She's also delusional about the political makeup of her own state, it appears. The Empire State has elected several Republican lawmakers, at the state and federal level. It wasn't just Trump who came closer to winning than many Republicans before him, but also former Rep. Lee Zeldin in the 2022 gubernatorial race.
In New York, Harris won with 55.9 percent of the vote to Trump's 44.1 percent, after President Joe Biden won in 2020 by 60.9 percent to Trump's 37.8 percent. Harris won Connecticut with 56.4 percent of the vote to Trump's 41.9 percent, after Biden won there in 2020 by 59.2 percent to Trump's 39.2. percent. In Massachusetts, Harris won with 61.5 percent of the vote to Trump's 36.3 percent, after Biden won there by 65.6 percent to Trump's 32.1 percent. In Vermont, which has a Republican governor who was just reelected, Harris won with 64.4 percent of the vote to Trump's 32.6 percent, while Biden won there in 2020 with 66.1 percent of the vote to Trump's 30.7 percent. Harris underperformed Biden in each of these states, while Trump improved his performance in all of them.
More recently, Krueger's "extreme (to say the least)" plans were highlighted by POLITICO:
O, CANADA: State Sen. Liz Krueger knows her ideas to counter the incoming Trump administration — withholding more than $300 billion in federal taxes or encouraging a bloc of liberal northeast states to join Canada — are extreme (to say the least).
But the Manhattan Democrat believes Trump’s own plans, like the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants and threats to punish states that oppose the move, are severe enough to warrant a little norm-shattering thinking among Albany lawmakers.
“It’s not unreasonable to think outside of the box,” said Krueger, who chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee.
New York Democrats have only a few weeks to bolster their blue state against Trump 2.0.
Left-leaning legislators have unsuccessfully pressed for a December special session to pass measures that are aimed at protecting undocumented people and LGBTQ+ New Yorkers.
Krueger shares their concerns. She has also considered the scope of President-elect Donald Trump’s second presidency and what it means for a state where many Democrats cherish their role as a haven for vulnerable communities.
Her sentiment also underscores how difficult it will be for Democrats to gain leverage and Trump-proof New York. It’s not clear, for instance, how withholding federal tax dollars could be accomplished.
A steep cut in federal aid could be devastating for a state with a $239 billion budget that receives about $85 billion from Washington — much of it in Medicaid spending. New York sends about $362 billion in tax dollars to the federal government.
“We’re talking a lot of money,” Krueger said. “We’re talking money we couldn’t possibly replace unless we started sending the feds a lot less money.”
Whatever plan Democrats coalesce around to push back against Trump, they’ll have little opposition outside their conferences given the large majorities they hold in both chambers.
Trump’s first administration was marked in New York by a flurry of pent-up legislation. Democrats, empowered by a full majority in the state Senate, approved measures to aid tenants, expand voting and bolster abortion rights.
They also pressed for measures aimed squarely at Trump, like forcing the release of his state returns.
Still, some Democrats this time have urged caution. Trump received 43 percent in New York, the highest vote share for a Republican in more than 30 years. Post-Covid, voters have become restive over the cost of living and concerns over crime — issues that helped the GOP this cycle.
“It’s not our job to pick up the pitchforks that have been dropped by his many followers,” Long Island Assemblymember Chuck Lavine said in a recent interview.
Trump himself has signaled he wants to help his native state.
The president-elect’s administration will determine the future of crucial infrastructure projects like the Gateway Tunnel, and he’s expressed support for rehabbing the decaying Penn Station.
But skepticism abounds among left-leaning Democrats.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Manhattan state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal told Playbook of Trump’s interest in aiding New York.
And there’s the acknowledgment there’s little the Legislature can do given the power that will be wielded by Trump.
“With the courts aligned largely against New York at the federal level and the other two branches of government under Republican control,” Hoylman-Sigal said, “it’s going to be tough sledding.” — Nick Reisman
In addition to referencing how well Trump performed in New York this time around, and how he wants to actually help his native state, the New York Playbook edition also brings up comments from another radical leftist state politician.
Nine days before the election, Trump held a rally at Madison Square Garden (MSG) State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who is also quoted above, was one of the first, if not the first, to liken the rally to one Nazis held on February 10, 1939, when MSG wasn't even at the same location. Other top Democrats, even and including Harris' running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), picked up on that narrative and doubled down. So it's not exactly shocking that he'd be dismissive of Trump's plans to help New York.
Unfortunately for Krueger, as the Fox News segment also reminded, Trump's new border czar, Tom Homan, is made clear the administration won't let Democratic politicians get in the administration's way.
Polls conducted before and after the election also show that Americans favor deporting illegal immigrants.