New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the attacks on monuments “healthy expression” and “good statements.”
In an appearance Tuesday on NBC, he denied President Trump’s admonition that, in the words of interviewer Savannah Guthrie, “cities should do more to protect monuments.”
Cuomo on tearing down statues: “It’s a healthy expression of people saying let’s get some priorities here and let’s remember the sin and mistake that this nation made and let’s not celebrate it.” pic.twitter.com/u7uUEL6VJO
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) June 23, 2020
Instead, Mr. Cuomo characterized the attacks — which have targeted monuments to Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt and World War II veterans among others — as anti-racist statements.
“People are making a statement about equality, about community, to be against racism, against slavery, I think those are good statements,” the Democratic governor said.
While he acknowledged that “of course you can” overdo such statements, he didn’t think that had happened in New York, claiming that the problem with the Roosevelt statue at the Museum of Natural History wasn’t really Teddy but what surrounded him (a black man and an Indian).
Nevertheless, he said, the removals are a good reminder of America’s wrongs.
“It’s a healthy expression of people saying let’s get some priorities here and let’s remember the sin and mistake that this nation made and let’s not celebrate it,” he said.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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