Cuomo says "this is no time for politics" as coronavirus death toll jumps from previous day
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday "this is no time for politics," after reporting 778 more people have died from the coronavirus. That was up from 671 deaths in the state the day before.
"That number is up, and that is to me the most painful number, and it has been the most painful number every day," he said at this daily briefing on the state's response to COVID-19.
Cuomo said the more than 10,000 New Yorkers who have lost their lives to the virus were not 10,000 Democrats or 10,000 Republicans: These were 10,000 people. "Period."
If President Trump wants a fight "he's not going to get it from me"
President Trump called out "Democrat Governors" and Cuomo on Twitter Tuesday morning after getting pushback for saying at a White House task force briefing on Monday he has "total" authority in regard to lockdown rules across the country.
Cuomo said the president "is clearly spoiling for a fight on this issue," but that this is no time for any division between the federal and state governments.
"This is no time for politics and it is no time to fight," he said. "If he wants a fight he's not going to get it from me."
Cuomo said he looks "forward to working with the president in partnership and cooperation, but he has no fight here. I won't let it happen. And look, unless he suggested that we do something that would be reckless and endanger the health or welfare of the people of the state, then I would have no choice. But shy of that, I put my hand out to say: Let's do this together."
Earlier on Tuesday, during an appearance on "CBS This Morning," Cuomo dismissed Mr. Trump's claim that he has the sole authority to reopen the U.S. economy as "absurd."
Cuomo and the governors of several other eastern states announced Monday that they would join forces to coordinate the reopening of the region and its economy after the coronavirus pandemic upended regular daily life throughout the country.
"This virus is very good at what it does. It is a killer," Cuomo said during a state Capitol news briefing.
