Protecting The Epstein Class

Trump lashes out at Mamdani’s NYC pied-à-terre tax on wealthy out-of-state buyers of multimillion-dollar homes, calls his opponents “Radical Left Jihadists,” and says he’s looking into whether the federal government can step in to protect property owners from paying it. pic.twitter.com/PuOGqBfl3F

— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) August 11, 2026

I’m having a hard time coming up with any legal basis for the federal government to oppose a NY state tax that only affects non-residents owning second (at least) homes in NYC at or above a certain value.

The closest I can come up with is the Commerce Clause, but state taxation on real estate doesn’t come anywhere near “interstate commerce,” and the 10th amendment pretty handily blocks the Feds from overruling state tax law (poll taxes are specifically outlawed by federal law; that’s a different story entirely from this tax). Basically, if Congress can’t do it, Trump can’t invent a superpower to let him do it.

Of course, it does help make clear Trump is only concerned with protecting the Epstein class.  That’s another arrow in the quiver for November.  Especially since early voting is as little as 75 days away.