New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) criticized President Donald Trump’s coronavirus pandemic response as he blamed the president for the virus’ spread throughout the state of New York.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Cuomo offered a brief overview of all that has transpired over the last several months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Cuomo, Trump and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are responsible for the rapid spread of the virus at the beginning of the pandemic.
“Donald Trump caused the COVID outbreak in New York,” Cuomo said. “That is a fact. It’s a fact that he admitted and the CDC admitted and Fauci admitted.”
Cuomo recalled Trump’s initial response to the coronavirus as he reiterated where things went wrong in New York. As he criticized Trump for his repeated “China virus” claim, he noted how critical it was to place a timely ban on European travel in order to mitigate the spread of the virus.
“It was not the China virus. It was the European virus that came to New York. They missed it,” Cuomo said. “The China virus went to Europe. It got on a plane. It went to Europe. They never even thought of the possibility and then three million Europeans got on the plane and came to New York.”
He recalled how the virus spread for nearly three months before the federal government placed a travel ban on Europe.
See Cuomo’s comments below (starting at 48:00):
The governor also described Trump’s administration, CDC, National Institutes of Health, and Department of Homeland Security as “incompetent.”
Noting the dire situation the United States is faced with as a result of the coronavirus, Cuomo expressed concern about the country’s record-breaking death toll.
“The virus killed many more Americans than anything you were worried about on the southern border,” he said. “This nation loses more people per day to COVID than any nation on the globe.”
He added, “You know who did that? Donald Trump’s incompetence. And now, they won’t provide federal funding to help repair the damage from the ambush they created.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, the United States has confirmed nearly 6.5 million coronavirus cases across the country as the death toll approaches 200,000.