How Trump Is Coming for New York — And How It Won't Stop There
Watch my conversation with Brad Lander on confronting ICE, challenging Democratic incumbents and why he believes the future belongs to fighters, not fakers.
Remember when everyone was talking about Trump’s ICE raids? After Renee Good and Alex Pretti were murdered in Minneapolis, thousands of people signed up for ICE watches. Bruce Springsteen dedicated his tour to their memory. Communities across the political spectrum were questioning what federal immigration enforcement had become under Trump. And he needed that conversation to end as quickly as it began. So Trump flooded the zone with new scandals and feuds. But while the headlines shifted, the raids never stopped. Now Trump’s border czar is threatening the largest deployment of ICE agents New York City has ever seen.
That’s why I wanted to speak to Brad Lander. Fresh off a not guilty verdict after being arrested while trying to inspect conditions inside a New York City ICE detention facility, Lander has become one of a growing number of Democratic leaders making clear that opposition to Trump can’t just be rhetorical. Through his actions, Lander is demonstrating the kind of politics that’s visible, disruptive and willing to confront the systems enabling Trump’s agenda.
That energy is now at the center of Lander’s campaign for Congress. The former New York City Comptroller is challenging incumbent Democrat Dan Goldman in New York’s 10th Congressional District. Lander says Democratic voters want leaders willing to take on Trump and the billionaire donors, corporate interests and institutions that bow to him.
This includes DHS. We got into border czar Tom Homan’s threat to dramatically expand ICE operations in New York following Governor Hochul’s recent immigrant protection package. Drawing lessons from Minneapolis, Lander believes New Yorkers are prepared to organize, accompany their vulnerable neighbors and build the kind of local support networks that can actually withstand federal intimidation.
“If they send ICE agents and federal troops here, boy, New Yorkers will come out in just that spirit.”
And anyone who is watching the joy and community pulse through New York City right now will believe every word of that to be true.
As Democratic voters search for leaders willing to do more than issue statements and hold press conferences, Brad Lander is making his case, as a modern joyful warrior, for a different kind of opposition politics.
Watch our full conversation below and let me know what you think.
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