Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) said President Donald Trump ordering the use of federal police officers in Portland, OR and threatening to do the same in other cities to quell the ongoing protests was akin to “pouring gasoline on a fire.”
Cuomo said, “The conversation with the president yesterday, for me, was about a more parochial issue, making no federal troops going into New York City, which the president had been talking about, the rise in crime in cities across the country and his intention to send in federal troops. I don’t think that would be a good idea in New York City and we talked about that.”
Mitchell asked, “Can I just ask, did he commit to not sending the troops in because they are apparently poised to go into Chicago, and I know they have been in Portland?”
Cuomo said, “I said to the president that I understand the issues in New York City, and there are issues in New York City as there are in many cities across the country. And if there was a need, the state would step in, which is the normal protocol, governmental protocol. And I was ready, willing, and able to step in. I think the federal involvement there’s no justification for it and would be counterproductive, and the president said we would talk if —we would talk before he did anything. So that was a very good conversation.”
He added, “Look, the president’s concerns about New York City were well-founded. There are issues in New York City. You put Covid on top of the unrest after the George Floyd murder, etcetera, there’s been an increase in crime. So I get the concerns, but I don’t believe federal troops are the answer.”
Mitchell asked, “Do you think that there’s ever a situation where you would want federal forces to come in to help in New York City?”
Cuomo said, “No, no. I do not believe in this political environment. I believe federal forces would be incendiary. If there’s a reason, a justification, the state can handle it. A city is a creature of state law. The state government created cities in this state. If New York City has a problem, the state will address it. In this political environment, to send in federal troops would be pouring gasoline on a fire.”
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