Reacting to news that President Donald Trump wants to explore defunding what he called "anarchist jurisdictions" including New York City, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo used some of his harshest language about the president to date on a conference call with reporters Wednesday night.
WAMC's Ian Pickus was on the call and tweeted some highlights of the governor's comments, including when the Democrat said of Trump, "This is a man who is disrespected by his own family. His sister, a former federal judge, is disgraced by him. What does it say about a person, a man, who spends his time trying to destroy the place he came from?"
Cuomo claimed Trump moved to Florida because he would not be welcome back in New York, saying: "He is persona non grata in New York....he can't have enough bodyguards to walk through New York City."
"He'd better have an army if he thinks he's gonna walk down the street in New York City," Cuomo added.
At the end of the call, he attempted to walk that comment back slightly, saying he meant that the president would be rejected by New York residents. The governor, who tempered criticism of the president during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, referred to the president as a "clown."
Cuomo on Trump: “This is a man who is disrespected by his own family. His sister, a former federal judge, is disgraced by him. What does it say about a person, a man, who spends his time trying to destroy the place he came from?”
— Ian Pickus (@IanPickus) September 2, 2020
Cuomo said he didn't think the president would actually follow through with the defunding review because the move wouldn't stand up to legal scrutiny. It was the latest example of an ongoing struggle between Cuomo and the federal government over issues including the state and local tax deduction, immigration enforcement, the coronavirus response and the lack of state aid since the House passed the HEROES Act in May.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo · Governor Cuomo Responds to Report President Trump Has Ordered Federal Government to Defund NYC
On the call, Cuomo blamed Trump for New York's devastating COVID-19 numbers, and said "he did nothing" about the virus until March 15, instead blaming China for the virus.
Governors Andrew Cuomo of New York has the worst record on death and China Virus. 11,000 people alone died in Nursing Homes because of his incompetence!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2020
On another subject, Cuomo deflected a question about whether he would campaign for Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden.
And he said he hadn't yet seen troubling video of the detention of the late Daniel Prude in Rochester, although the video had been described to him. Cuomo said he would be watching the video later Wednesday night.
