New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Saturday said there’s no room for politics amid the coronavirus outbreak and that President Trump’s approach to give states control over when to reopen their economies is correct.
“In the midst of this, there is no time for politics,” Mr. Cuomo said. “I’m not running for anything. I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to be governor of the state of New York until the people kick me out…I have no political agenda.”
Mr. Cuomo thanked the federal government for agreeing to send 1.5 million cloth masks to the state. A new mandate requiring New Yorkers to cover their faces in public when they can’t adhere to typical social distancing guidelines went into effect Friday evening.
The White House this week laid out a series of benchmarks for states to hit in terms of infections and testing when they start talking about reopening their economies.
Mr. Cuomo said there could be complications with such an individualized approach but that Mr. Trump was generally correct in deferring to the states.
“There’s no perfect way to do this,” Mr. Cuomo said. “I think the president leaving it to the states was not just right and legal and constitutional — I think he’s right that it’s different in different places.”
The comments mark the latest chapter in Mr. Cuomo’s love-hate relationship with Mr. Trump and the federal government during the pandemic.
At his Friday briefing, Mr. Cuomo appeared to address Mr. Trump directly, looking into the camera and imploring the president not to be “a Monday morning quarterback at halftime.”
“If you want to point fingers, we built more beds than we needed — our only mistake then was believing your numbers and believing your projections,” the governor said. “If that was a mistake, then I’m guilty.”
“I thought New York state relying on what you said would have been a safe assumption. I won’t make that mistake again,” the governor said on Friday.
Earlier in the week, Mr. Cuomo torched Mr. Trump in several morning TV interviews, likening him to a king after the president said he had the final say on when states can reopen their economies.
Hours later, Mr. Cuomo said he was refusing to engage in personal political fights with Mr. Trump.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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