Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) heavily criticized President Donald Trump’s handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic on Monday at the Democratic National Convention despite having previously praised some of the commander-in-chief’s efforts.
Cuomo, who in recent weeks has come under fire for his own handling of the virus, castigated Trump for having failed to take the virus seriously when it first emerged while delivering a virtual address to the DNC.
“Our current federal government is dysfunctional and incompetent,” the governor said of the Trump administration. “It couldn’t fight off the virus, in fact, it didn’t even see it coming. … We saw the failure of a government that tried to deny the virus, then tried to ignore it, and then tried to politicize it.”
“We have seen in this crisis that government matters,” Cuomo added. “And it determines whether we thrive and grow, or whether we live or die.”
The governor’s condemnation of Trump, however, stands in contrast to some of the comments Cuomo has made in the past. Even though Cuomo and Trump have an infamously contentious relationship, the duo has occasionally offered praise for each other at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most notably, in April, the governor lauded Trump’s decision to send a U.S. naval vessel equipped with hospital beds and medical equipment to help New York as it faced shortages in the face of the pandemic.
“He has delivered for New York. He has,” the governor told the press at the time, adding that “by and large” his relationship with Trump “worked.”
Similarly, last month, the governor praised Trump’s call for Americans to wear masks to prevent the spread of the pandemic.