Gov. Cuomo says he won't quarrel with President Trump, who alluded to a mutiny by Democratic governors

"The president said last night that he has total authority for determining how and when states reopen. That is not an accurate statement," said Cuomo.

News 12 Staff

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Apr 14, 2020, 3:11 PM

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Updated 1,712 days ago

Gov. Cuomo says he won't quarrel with President Trump, who alluded to a mutiny by Democratic governors

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo responded to tweets from President Donald Trump that alluded to a mutiny by Democratic governors who say the president doesn’t have the broad authority to reopen state government during his daily COVID-19 news conference on Tuesday:

“That is not an accurate statement."

The governor then turned to Alexander Hamilton for the assist, who said “That [states’] liberties can be subverted by the federal head is repugnant.”

Gov. Cuomo said that he couldn’t let the president’s statement stand, but would not engage in a political fight with so much on the line. He remains aligned with a regionwide approach with seven surrounding states for a gradual reopening when the time is right.

MORE: LIVE BLOG - Coronavirus updates from the tri-state area and beyond
TRACKER: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut coronavirus cases and deaths

“Sometimes it’s better to walk away from a fight that to engage in it...The president will have no fight from me,” he said.

The response to the president came after the governor announced that 778 more New Yorkers died from COVID-19 in 24 hours. He also said that the total number of hospitalizations “continues to flatten” yet there were 1,600 more COVID-19 cases in the state.

The death toll has reached 10,834.

Gov. Cuomo says if the government wants an increased federal role, allow FEMA to oversee providing diagnostic testing instead of having states compete in a bidding war “for private testing capacity and private testing machines.”

“I want to get out of the eBay competition business for vital medical equipment and now vital testing,” said Gov. Cuomo, who says the federal government needs to help on this front.

Total hospitalizations is "continuing to flatten."
Number of new patients is down, but there were 1,600 COVID-19 cases yesterday.
778 New Yorkers died yesterday from COVID-19. "It's basically flat at a devastating level of pain and grief." The death toll in the state is now 10,834.
"We control the virus, the virus does not control us...Our actions today determine the infection rate tomorrow."
"How you reopen is everything. Let's learn from past mistakes. "
New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island, Massachusetts will work together to reopen. “The gears have to mesh.”
"We also have to be clear on who is responsible for each element of the opening. The president said last night that he has total authority for determining how and when states reopen. That is not an accurate statement."
Gov. Cuomo: "The federal-state relationship is central to our Democracy." "We don't have a king in this country. We don't want a king."

Gov. Cuomo on President Trump's mutiny among governors tweet: "The president is clearly spoiling for a fight on this issue. The worst thing we can do in all of this is start with political division and start with partisanship. The best thing we have done throughout this past 44 days is we worked together and we haven't raised political flags."

Gov. Cuomo: "Sometimes its better to walk away from a fight that to engage in it...the president will have no fight from me."
"It's no time to relax...we have a number of challenges ahead."
"You want to talk about an increased federal role? Let FEMA do the testing. FEMA should have, in my opinion, done all the purchasing of the medical equipment and they should have allocated it."
"Why am I now competing for private testing capacity and private testing machines with Illinois and California? I want to get out of the eBay competition business for vital medical equipment and now vital testing."
On massive diagnostic testing: "The states cannot do this on their own."

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