President Donald Trump fired back at New York Governor Andrew Cuomo again for his recent remarks on nationalizing the response to the coronavirus crisis.
Trump admonished the New York Democrat to “keep politics out of it” in a tweet criticizing his call to equally treat all the states in the country in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Cuomo wants “all states to be treated the same.” But all states aren’t the same,” Trump tweeted Tuesday morning. “Some are being hit hard by the Chinese Virus, some are being hit practically not at all. New York is a very big “hotspot”, West Virginia has, thus far, zero cases. Andrew, keep politics out of it….”
Cuomo wants “all states to be treated the same.” But all states aren’t the same. Some are being hit hard by the Chinese Virus, some are being hit practically not at all. New York is a very big “hotspot”, West Virginia has, thus far, zero cases. Andrew, keep politics out of it….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2020
The president’s jab at Cuomo followed a Twitter exchange between the two on Monday after Trump tweeted that the Democrat needed to “do more.”
Trump was reacting to criticism leveled at his administration by the grandstanding governor who has been in office since 2011.
“You look at the countries who have handled this, I don’t care if it’s China or South Korea, if it’s Italy. They were all handled by national leadership,” Cuomo said in a press conference on Monday. “This is a national problem. It can not be done in a piecemeal method. You need federal parameters to stop the national patchwork of density reduction closings.”
Fox News gives showboat Andrew Cuomo airtime to pretend he’s POTUS https://t.co/m7K6fIQoJK
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) March 16, 2020
Trump took a shot at Cuomo in a tweet remarking on a conference call he had with governors across the country.
“Just had a very good tele-conference with Nations’s Governors. Went very well. Cuomo of New York has to ‘do more,’ he wrote in a since-deleted tweet.
The New York governor soon fired back.
I have to do more?
No — YOU have to do something! You’re supposed to be the President. https://t.co/tYeDt1lcOZ
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 16, 2020
Cuomo also said he’d be “happy” to do the president’s job if he handed control of the Army Corps of Engineers over to him.
Happy to do your job, too.
Just give me control of the Army Corps of Engineers and I’ll take it from there.https://t.co/nfjZ8xiRL4 https://t.co/YNvdHC3Xz3
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 16, 2020
Cuomo repeated his criticism and his calls for “national rules” and for “federal action,” prompting backlash on social media.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the federal government should impose a uniform response to stop “state-shopping”
he doesn’t seem to understand that federalism and decentralization of power are fundamental to America
if he wants top-down authoritarian control he should go live in China
— steve hilton (@SteveHiltonx) March 16, 2020
But things seemed to take a turn on Tuesday as Cuomo thanked Trump and his administration for “doing everything that they can do.”
(Source: Fox News)
Trump was not only sparring with Cuomo over the coronavirus crisis, but other state leaders as well. Even as the president spoke with governors in a conference call Monday, some members of the liberal media chose to misrepresent him by only sharing part of his comments, leaving out a crucial part of a quote which made him appear to tell states to fend for themselves in the midst of the coronavirus crisis.
“Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment — try getting it yourselves,” Trump said, in a recording of the call which was shared with The New York Times. “We will be backing you, but try getting it yourselves. Point of sales, much better, much more direct if you can get it yourself.”
But some journalists chose not to include Trump’s promise to the governors that the federal government would be “backing” the states in their attempts to find and purchase the needed equipment.
Media cuts Trump quote in crucial spot to make him look like a monster, others mocks task force fashion https://t.co/rEvqhOcmSd
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) March 17, 2020
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was called out by Trump after she claimed that her state was not getting enough federal help.
“To hear the leader of the federal government telling us to work around the federal government because it’s too slow, it’s kind of mind-boggling, to be honest,” the Democrat told MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle. “But we need the federal government to work. We need respirators and ventilators and personal protection equipment.”
“We need the federal government to ramp up and get this done,” she added, adamant that they could not get access to needed tests without federal support.
The president shot back on Twitter, saying the “Failing Michigan Governor must work harder and be much more proactive.”
“We are pushing her to get the job done. I stand with Michigan,” he added.
Failing Michigan Governor must work harder and be much more proactive. We are pushing her to get the job done. I stand with Michigan!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2020
Florida Senator Rick Scott, who is a former governor of the Sunshine State, came to the president’s defense Monday, slamming state leaders who are demanding Washington do everything for them.
“It’s your personal responsibility to figure out [how to protect your own health]. The federal government cannot solve every problem,” the Republican lawmaker and former health care industry executive told Fox News.
“We’ve got to have our families, our churches, our mayors, our communities — we ALL have to get together on this and solve the problem. This is a local problem right now. It’s a local health care delivery system,” he added.
Rick Scott contrasts Cuomo’s whining, urges states to step up: Federal govt can’t solve every problem https://t.co/7c7OayP97o pic.twitter.com/xYp8uwyVWb
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) March 17, 2020
“Health care is a locally-delivered system,” Scott said. “So our local health care systems with our local county health departments and our local physicians groups — they all have to get together and figure out, what can they produce that they don’t have.”
“We have to be very creative [and resourceful] at every level: Local, state, and federal,” he added, urging local governments to waive regulations to expedite resources. “We are all in a crisis and we all have to do this together.”
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Frieda@bizpacreview.com
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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