Watch Cuomo slam Trump for 16 minutes: 'How many times do you want me to say thank you?'

On Friday, Donald Trump attacked New York’s Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo while Cuomo was giving his daily briefing.

“Governor Cuomo should spend more time ‘doing’ and less time ‘complaining’. Get out there and get the job done. Stop talking!” Trump tweeted. 

“We have given New York far more money, help and equipment than any other state, by far, & these great men & women who did the job never hear you say thanks. Your numbers are not good. Less talk and more action!” he added.

Over 12,100 people in New York have died as a result of the coronavirus — a higher death toll than in any other state. Cuomo’s approval rating has risen to 87% over the course of his administration’s response to the outbreak.

Cuomo was asked about Trump’s attack during his briefing.

“Good, let’s respond to the president,” Cuomo said — and then responded for more than 16 minutes.

“First of all, if he’s sitting home, watching TV, maybe he should get up and go to work.”

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“When he says, ‘Well, we built it, we didn’t need it,’ it sounds like the suggestion is, well, it was a request by the state that wasn’t valid. If he didn’t really believe 2,500 beds was necessary, I don’t believe the federal government would have helped build 2,500 beds. And the number came from a projection from him. Him. He should read the reports he issues.

“The White House coronavirus task force had enormous — projected in the millions of people. The CDC, which is the president, projected in the millions of people. So, the projections were high. They were the president’s projections. So for him to say to anyone, ‘Well, you relied on projections, and the projections were wrong’ — they’re your projections, Mr. President.

“So were we foolish for relying on your projections, Mr. President? CDC, coronavirus White House task force — that’s you. We relied on your projections. OK. Shouldn’t have relied on your projections.”

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“I have said a number of times — I don’t know, what am I supposed to do, send a bouquet of flowers? They were very helpful on Javits. Very helpful on sending the U.S. Navy ship Comfort. They were very helpful in intervening with China and getting PPE equipment out of China. They were very helpful in helping us find ventilators. I said thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

“Now, going forward, we’re still in the midst of it. The president doesn’t want to help on testing. He said 11 times — I said the one issue we need help with is testing. He said 11 times, ‘I don’t want to get involved in testing, it’s too complicated, it’s too hard.’ I know it’s too complicated, and it’s too hard. That’s why we need you to help.”

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“He wants to say, ‘Well, I did enough.’ Yeah, none of us have done enough. We haven’t. Because it’s not over. So yes, thank you for the Javits, thank you for the U.S. Navy ship Comfort. But it’s not over. We have a lot more to do. And no one can take the posture, ‘Well, just say thank you for what I’ve done, and I’m now out. I’m not doing anything else. I’ve done my part.’

“What if I said to the people of my state, ‘OK, I’m done. By the way, I saved hundreds of thousands of lives, I flattened the curve, I created more hospital beds than anyone ever imagined, I coordinated the entire state — I’m done. I’m done. I’m going home. I’m going to go see my mother, I’m going to spend time with my kids, and I’m going to go out fishing. In Connecticut. Because their marinas are open. That’s it. I’m done.’ What if I said that? That’s what he’s saying. ‘I’m done. I don’t want to help on testing, testing is too hard.'”

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“The only thing he’s doing — let’s be honest — while it’s up to the states to do reopen — I mean, it was always up to the states. What, are you going to grant me what the Constitution gave me before you were born? It’s called the Tenth Amendment. I didn’t need the president of the United States to tell me that I’m governor. I didn’t need the president of the United States to tell me the powers of a state. People did that. Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison — they are the ones who gave me the power. And I don’t need the president of the United States to read the Constitution for me. Maybe he should have read the Constitution before he said he had the power to open the states.”

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“OK, I’m going to reopen. I get it. And you don’t want to help on testing. Which is a national problem and replicates the same chaos that you created with medical supplies because FEMA wasn’t ready.”

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“So thank you again, Mr. President, for Javits, thank you for the U.S. Navy ship Comfort — which, by the way, is just doing your job as president. It’s not really thank you like you wrote a check yourself. But thank you for that. We’re not out of the woods. We have to go forward. We need help on testing. And we need funding. It’s up to the governors, it’s up to the state — well, then, provide the funding.”

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“He didn’t announce anything. He said it’s up to the states. That’s what he said. And if you say it’s up to the states, and you just hold up a big microphone that can listen to all of the governors, you’ll hear some governors say, ‘I can start to reopen right away.’ Because some governors are in places where they don’t have a serious problem, they never did. By the way, some states never even closed down. So if you’re in a state that has a de minimis issue, yeah, you can open up faster, you can open up tomorrow. Or you can start opening up tomorrow. He’s doing nothing. He said, ‘It’s up to the states.’ It’s up to the governors. Which is what it always was because it’s always been the governor’s power.”

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“And then he says, ‘it’s a 50-piece puzzle.’ Oh, no, no. That’s called a map of the United States. It’s not a puzzle. And those lines are called states. And those states have constitutional power. Remember, the way this whole thing starts: The colonies create the federal government, not the other way around. So, introduction to constitutional theory and policy. The states have the power to open, the states are opening, on their own timelines. We’re trying to coordinate with our neighboring states, western states are coordinating, middle states are coordinating. All he’s doing is walking in front of the parade, but he has nothing to do with the timing of the parade.”

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“How many times do you want me to say thank you? But I’m saying thank you for doing your job. This was your role as president, OK?”

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“You want me to say thank you? Thank you for doing your job in helping build Javits and sending the U.S. Navy ship Comfort. Thank you for participating in a modicum of federal responsibility in a national crisis. Which you know is a national crisis because he declared a federal emergency. So thank you for having the federal government participate in a federal emergency.”

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“By the way, what did McKinsey say that we needed? 140,000 beds. They got it from the CDC. As it says on the screen. They got it from the CDC. That’s why we built 2,500 beds at Javits. Because we listened to you, Mr. President. And if we were foolish for listening to you, then shame on us. But, read your own report next time before you criticize it.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.