Fox News Host Calls CT ‘Fiscal Wreck’ as Malloy Defends Immigration, Transgender Positions

Gov. Dannel Malloy debated transgender rights, immigration enforcement and the state of Connecticut’s economy with Fox News host Tucker Carlson Thursday night after Malloy was specifically mentioned during a White House press briefing.

Carlson launched into the interview by calling Connecticut a “fiscal wreck” with a capitol on the verge of bankruptcy. He asked Malloy why he was tackling the issue of whether to assist federal immigration authorities while the state was in a dire situation. (Get Connecticut Patch's daily newsletter and real-time news alerts here.)

“They can’t order us to do federal work,” Malloy said. “Quite frankly the federal government should do its own job.”

Malloy recently released an advisory to local police chiefs and superintendents on how to deal with federal immigration authorities. He said his advisory mirrored a bipartisan state law that was passed in 2013.

Related: Malloy Escalates Feud With Trump Administration Over Policies

The governor added that limited local and state tax dollars shouldn’t be spent on matters that fall under federal purview. He went on to defend his record and said the majority of the state’s fiscal woes are due to overspending and poor investment by previous administrations.

Carlson did concede that not all of Connecticut's fiscal issues were due to Malloy.
State Republicans criticized Malloy and said that he had distorted some facts.

“The record needs to be corrected. I understand he was trying to make political points, but he made a number of statements that distorted state law and Connecticut’s fiscal well being,’’ said House Republican Leader Themis Klarides.

Klarides said that Malloy’s advisory to law enforcement goes behind the TRUST Act passed in 2013 and that he encourages law enforcement to not provide Immigrations and Custom Enforcement officials with access to people in custody without first explaining why.

“The Governor seemed to dismiss the notion that the GE decision was anything less than a disaster by claiming there are more GE workers in Connecticut now than when he first took office,’’ Klarides said. “Hartford, Connecticut’s Capitol, is facing potential bankruptcy and our Governor is spending precious time trying to get law enforcement officials to skirt our laws.”

Carlson pointedly questioned how Malloy can reconcile his federalist stance federal immigration issue with his stance on federal transgender bathroom guidelines in public schools.

“I don’t think discrimination or bigotry are state issues,” Malloy said.

Trump changed guidance on the issue that was first put into place under President Barack Obama and said that it was up to states on how they should proceed. Malloy issued an executive order to clarify that the matter falls under existing state anti-discrimination laws and criticized Trump’s position.

“Why should someone be required to use a facility they are no longer equipped to use because it was on their birth certificate,” Malloy said.

Check out the full interview here.

Image via MTA/Flickr Commons