New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) in a Tuesday press conference praised President Trump’s response efforts to the coronavirus pandemic in New York, saying his team was “on it” and that he was doing the “right thing.” He also called for Americans to put politics aside.
Cuomo, whose state is facing more than 600 cases, said he spoke to Trump in the morning about using federal resources to combat coronavirus in New York.
“He is ready, willing, and able to help. I’ve been speaking with members of his staff late last night, early this morning. We need their help, especially on the hospital capacity issue,” he said.
“We need FEMA, FEMA has tremendous resources. When I was at HUD, we worked with FEMA. I know what they can do. I know what the Army Corps of Engineers can do. They have a capacity that we simply do not have,” he said.
He said he has known Trump for many years and extended his hand in partnership. He said:
I said to the president, who is a New Yorker, who I’ve known for many, many years, I put my hand out in partnership. ‘I want to work together, 100 percent. I need your help. I want your help. And New Yorkers will do everything they can to be good partners with the federal government.
He said he believed Trump was “100 percent sincere in saying that he wanted to work together, in partnership, in a spirit of cooperation,” and that his actions “evidence that.”
Cuomo complimented the administration’s response:
His team has been on it. I know a team when they’re on it, and I know a team when they’re not on it. His team is on it, they’ve been responsive, late at night, early in the morning, and they’ve thus far been doing everything that they can do, and I want to say thank you, and I want to say that I appreciate it. They will have nothing but cooperation and partnership from the state of New York.
Cuomo’s response stands in stark contrast to many Democrats, who are attacking the president and the administration over the coronavirus.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday a Democrat super PAC plans to spend $5 million on digital advertising criticizing Trump for his response to the coronavirus — just “one of several groups that planned to devote resources to this type of messaging.”
As Breitbart News reported, both Democrat presidential candidates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders have attacked Trump for his response to the coronavirus crisis, which began in China. As Joel Pollak reported:
Biden — who called Trump’s January travel ban on China “hysterical” and “racist” — criticized the president and released his own plan, while opposing travel bans from China, Europe, “or any other part of the world.”
Sanders called for Trump to be replaced on the coronavirus issue by “experts” and Congress — and said he should be “shut up.”
Cuomo appealed for unity and said now is not a time for politics.
“We are not Democrats, we are not Republicans, we are Americans at the end of the day. That’s who we are. And that’s who we are when we’re at our best,” he said.
“So this hyper-sensitivity about politics and reading every comment and wanting to pit one against the other, there’s no time for this. The president is doing the right thing in offering to step up with New York and I appreciate it. And New York will do the right thing in return.”
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