Take it from someone who’s spent years as a survivor advocate, working with people hurt by those in power: You do not negotiate with abusers.

Democrats across the country need to understand this if they want to actually stand up to Donald Trump, especially right now as he’s punishing Democratic states by freezing their federal funding, including billions already approved for the Gateway Tunnel.

This behavior is not only un-American but textbook abuse, and states have a moral obligation to fight back with all the leverage they have. That’s why I’m proposing two straightforward responses from the State of New Jersey.

First, the state should withhold federal taxes, dollar for dollar, to backfill any funding that’s illegally cut. Since employers are the ones who pay taxes to the IRS, and New Jersey employs hundreds of thousands of public workers, the state has billions of dollars we could freeze.

Second, New Jersey should use eminent domain on Trump’s golf course in Bedminster........

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