Tag: Gov. Cuomo

Andrew Cuomo: Trump ‘in denial’ about coronavirus

“You can’t tweet at it,” New York’s governor said.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday said President Donald Trump and his administration are “basically in denial” about the coronavirus pandemic and aren’t doing enough to combat it.

Confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S. are rising, and the death toll has topped 125,000, leading some states, such as Texas and Florida, to roll back some of the measures they’ve taken to reopen their economies.

“This is a continuation of the first wave, and it was a failed effort to stop the first wave in the country,” Cuomo said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “If you listen to what the president says, what they said at the White House briefing, they’re saying what they said three months ago. They’re basically in denial about the problem. They don’t want to tell the American people the truth.” Continue reading.

Bless Their Hearts: How Red States Screw Blue States

Nothing angers Andrew Cuomo more than the notion that taxpayers in “red states” should resent or resist assistance for “blue states” struggling against the coronavirus. Hearing that message from Senate Republicans provoked the Democratic New York governor to remind the nation several times of the gross disparity between what his state remits to the Treasury and what their states reclaim in federal benefits.

Cuomo noted acidly that New York pays $116 billion more than it gets back annually, while lucky Kentucky, the home of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, gets $148 billion more than it pays. By that reckoning, New York has kicked in far more over the past few decades than any of the states whose Republican leaders criticize supposed liberal profligacy.

“Give us our money back, Sen. McConnell,” roared the New Yorker. Continue reading.

Gov. Cuomo hits back with condescending mockery after Trump’s attack

AlterNet logoNew York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been enjoying a great deal of praise from Democrats — as well from some Never Trump conservatives — for the leadership he has shown during the coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, however, President Donald Trump accused Cuomo of being a complainer rather than a leader, and Cuomo responded with biting commentary of his own.

New York City has been hit especially hard by the pandemic in recent weeks. Researchers at John Hopkins University in Baltimore were reporting, on Friday afternoon, that more than 11,400 people had died from coronavirus in the region. And Cuomo has been stressing that NYC’s hospitals are absolutely overwhelmed.

Friday on Twitter, Trump posted, “Governor Cuomo should spend more time ‘doing’ and less time ‘complaining.’ Get out there and get the job done. Stop talking! We built you thousands of hospital beds that you didn’t need or use, gave large numbers of Ventilators that you should have had, and helped you with testing that you should be doing. We have given New York far more money, help and equipment than any other state, by far, & these great men & women who did the job never hear you say thanks. Your numbers are not good. Less talk and more action!” Continue reading.

Cuomo Rebuffs Trump’s Political Baiting As ‘Anti-American’

On Monday, Donald Trump was asked by the hosts of Fox & Friendsabout possibly running in the presidential election against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is not a candidate.

“I wouldn’t mind running against Andrew. I’ve known Andrew for a long time. I wouldn’t mind that, but I’ll be honest, I think he’d be a better candidate than sleepy Joe,” he told the network, using his frequent epithet for former Vice President Joe Biden.

In his daily briefing on the coronavirus, Cuomo pushed back against the notion that he is focused on politics in his current efforts in governing New York. Continue reading.

Cuomo pushes back on Trump over ventilators: ‘I operate on facts’

The Hill logoNew York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday pushed back on President Trump‘s assertion that his state does not really need thousands more ventilators to fight the coronavirus outbreak there, saying “I operate on facts.”

“Everybody’s entitled to their own opinion, but I don’t operate here on opinion, I operate on facts and on data and on numbers and on projections,” Cuomo said when asked about Trump’s comments the previous night.

Trump, speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity, questioned whether the state, which is at the center of the coronavirus outbreak, really needed 30,000 more ventilators, which Cuomo has been pleading for from the Trump administration. Continue reading.

Gov. Cuomo approves new law allowing release of Trump’s N.Y. state tax returns

Washington Post logoNew York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) signed legislation Monday that allows Congress to review President Trump’s state tax returns, giving House Democrats another potential tool for accessing the president’s closely guarded financial records.

Rep. Richard E. Neal (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has suggested he will not pursue Trump’s state returns, saying he is focused on obtaining documents held by the Internal Revenue Service. Last week, Neal filed a lawsuit against the IRS and Treasury Department over their denial of his request for Trump’s tax returns.

Some New York lawmakers have pushed the new law as a way to grant Congress greater oversight over the president. It gives certain congressional bodies the authority to request the state returns, provided those requesting the returns cite a “specified and legitimate legislative purpose.”

View the complete July 8 article by Jeff Stein on The Washington Post website here.