Cuomo Praises Trump for Helping Curb Coronavirus Outbreak

Victor Westerkamp
By Victor Westerkamp
March 16, 2020Politics
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Cuomo Praises Trump for Helping Curb Coronavirus Outbreak
NY- Governor Andrew Cuomo holds a briefing on Coronavirus, 112 new cases, reiterates ways to reduce spread through testing and density reduction. Cuomo thanked President Trump, and Vice President Pence saying, “I want to thank the Vice President and especially the President who facilitated this and moved quickly”(Darren McGee/Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo)

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo thanked Vice President Mike Pence and President Trump “especially” for their support fighting the coronavirus spread in a similar way California governor Gavin Newsom did.

The remarkable praise of the Democratic governor came at a press conference he held on Friday afternoon announcing that the FDA had granted authority to the state of New York to execute lab testing in any of its 28 drive-through testing centers without an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).

Earlier on Friday, Trump had met with CEOs from Target, CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart who promised to lend parts of their parking spaces to set up drive-through testing centers.

Donald Trump
President Donald Trump listens as he tours the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory at the National Institutes of Health, in Bethesda, Md., on March 3, 2020. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

Cuomo said, “I want to thank the Vice President and especially the President who facilitated this and moved quickly.”

Thanks to the decision, for which Cuomo said he had to wait weeks, New York state can now double its daily testing capacity from 3,000 to 6,000.

Similarly, California’s Newsom praised Trump for assisting him in fighting the coronavirus crisis at a press conference on Monday, after California had allowed the Grand Princess, a cruise ship with 21 infected passengers aboard, to dock in Oakland, California, MRCTV reported.

Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference at the California Department of Public Health in Sacramento, California, on Feb. 27, 2020. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

When asked by a reporter about remarks made earlier by the president that he would prefer none of the passengers quarantined on the ship would set foot on national soil, Newsom replied:

“We had a private conversation, but he said, ‘We’re gonna do the right thing’ and ‘You have my support, all of our support, logistically and otherwise.’ He said everything I could have hoped for. And we had a very long conversation and every single thing he said, they followed through on. So, I’m just not interested in finding daylight on those statements because everything single thing his administration—and it starts at the top, including his Vice President—has been consistent with the expectation that we’d repatriate these passengers and we’d do it in a way that does justice to the spirit that defines the best of our country and the state of California.”

The president, who has been pushing back against criticism, mainly by Democrats and affiliated news media, that he had not done enough in time to counter the coronavirus crisis, also gave encouragement to House Republicans and Democrats working together on combating the virus.

“Good teamwork between Republicans & Democrats as the House passes the big CoronaVirus Relief Bill,” he wrote on Twitter. “People really pulled together. Nice to see!”

Meanwhile, some journalists and pundits have also expressed relief that officials are putting aside partisan politics to work together.

“At a time when coverage of the coronavirus has become so politicized, it’s refreshing to see some civility, however long it lasts,” Red State journalist Elizabeth Vaugh commented. “We are all in this together. Let’s hope we see more of this.”

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