New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) joined Thursday's 3:00 p.m. Eastern hour of CNN Newsroom and host Kate Bolduan to discuss his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and attack Jake Tapper for criticism Wednesday of his victory lap and related poster. After Cuomo accused Tapper of not knowing what he was talking about, Tapper seemed to acquiesce and spent Thursday's Lead attacking the White House.
Bolduan had asked Cuomo if, given developments in the rest of the country, "are you celebrating too soon?" Despite his assertions of crushing the curve, Cuomo alleged: "Oh, we're not celebrating at all. That was Mr. Tapper's misconstruction in his own political interpretation, whichever you want to allow."
After worrying that other states could ruin New York's recovery, Bolduan again asked about New York's record. Putting the infamous poster on the screen for viewers to see, Bolduan stated: "[O]ne of the points my colleague, Jake, had pointed out was that there's a lot in this poster that y'all put out, but it doesn't -- it doesn't also mention how there are more deaths than any other state, than any other state than New York. Do you think that --- do you think the poster was a mistake in the midst of all this?"
Cuomo replied that not only was Tapper wrong to blame him for his own state's woes because, according to Cuomo, it's President Trump's fault the virus made it's way to New York:
Tapper should say that Trump is to blame for the virus coming to New York, because that's the fact. That's what the CDC just said. If Trump's government had done its job, the virus wouldn't come here. We don't do -- governors don't do global pandemics. I was trying to explain that to Mr. Tapper, state governments don't do global public health. That's not in the state charter. The federal government does that. The virus didn't come here because of anything New Yorkers did. The virus came here because the federal government missed it. That's what the CDC, the federal government, says today. We then had to deal with it, and New Yorkers did.
Before moving on, Bolduan all but apologized to Cuomo and insisted he know that Tapper wasn't attacking the people of New York (click "expand"):
BOLDUAN: I know that Jake thinks New Yorkers did great things. I --- I do not ---
CUOMO: Well, ehh --
BOLDUAN: --- believe that he was trying to disparage ---
CUOMO: --- that's not what he said, Kate.
BOLDUAN: --- the efforts that you or anyone in New York -- I mean, I'm here and I saw it with my own eyes what every New Yorker --- you know, how New Yorkers came together to --- to pull some incredible --- some incredible things against insurmountable, unbelievable challenges.
After CNN Newsroom, Tapper folded and declined to respond to Cuomo's attacks. The only reference to Cuomo during The Lead was when Tapper was about Cuomo emphasizing it's too soon to announce any school re-opening plans.
As for Cuomo, he then phoned in for an interview with MSNBC where he was asked questions such as this one: "How much of this is on Donald Trump? How much of this is his failure?"
And here was another one from Deadline: White House host Nicolle Wallace: "Are you surprised to see governors like governors like Governor Kemp twiddling his thumbs about something like masks which is the least invasive, least offensive way to slow the spread?"
Here is a transcript for Cuomo's July 16 interview with Bolduan:
CNN Newsroom
July 16, 2020
3:21 PM ETKATE BOLDUAN: Governor, you have been taking some heat for celebrating what you call kind of crushing the curve. I've heard you say that many times. You said that the country is going to talk about what New York did for decades to come in taming the beast and also for a poster that you put out earlier this week kind of celebrating what New York accomplished. The country, as you know, Governor, is objectively nowhere near through this crisis. Are you celebrating too soon?
GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): Oh, we're not celebrating at all. That was Mr. Tapper's misconstruction in his own political interpretation, whichever you want to allow. No. Not at all. What we're saying is New Yorkers did step up and did flatten the curve. That is a fact. The people of New York unified. The people of New York were disciplined. They helped each other and they did it. We went from the worst infection rate in the country to the best to the lowest. That is a fact. Good for New Yorkers. I applaud New Yorkers. I'm proud to applaud New Yorkers. Unfortunately, we're now afraid that the virus is going to have a second wave.
BOLDUAN: Right.
CUOMO: Not the second wave they talked about but it's going to rebound because all of these other states have such a high infection rate and the people are coming to New York. We're trying to impose a quarantine et cetera, but I'm very afraid of an increase in the infection rate because of what's happening in the other states, and that's why I want the federal government to wake up and do their job.
BOLDUAN: Governor, lets throw -- I want to throw that poster up one more times for folks so they know what we're talking about and one of the points my colleague, Jake, had pointed out was that there's a lot in this poster that y'all put out, but it doesn't -- it doesn't also mention how there are more deaths than any other state, than any other state than New York. Do you think that --- do you think the poster was a mistake in the midst of all this?
CUOMO: No. Tapper's point, as you just heard from the CDC report, Tapper should say that Trump is to blame for the virus coming to New York, because that's the fact. That's what the CDC just said. If Trump's government had done its job, the virus wouldn't come here. We don't do -- governors don't do global pandemics. I was trying to explain that to Mr. Tapper, state governments don't do global public health. That's not in the state charter. The federal government does that. The virus didn't come here because of anything New Yorkers did. The virus came here because the federal government missed it. That's what the CDC, the federal government, says today. We then had to deal with it, and New Yorkers did. They did it. They came together like never before. Good for New Yorkers. And I can tell you as a born and bred New Yorker, I've never seen them do that. I've never seen them come together like that before and if Mr. Tapper doesn't think that New Yorkers did something great, I disagree with Mr. Tapper, but --
BOLDUAN: I know that Jake thinks New Yorkers did great things. I --- I do not ---
CUOMO: Well, ehh --
BOLDUAN: --- believe that he was trying to disparage ---
CUOMO: --- that's not what he said, Kate.
BOLDUAN: --- the efforts that you or anyone in New York -- I mean, I'm here and I saw it with my own eyes what every New Yorker --- you know, how New Yorkers came together to --- to pull some incredible --- some incredible things against insurmountable, unbelievable challenges.
