Furious Cuomo Claims Trump 'Better Have an Army' if He Wants To Walk Down NYC Streets
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo insinuated Wednesday that New York City is no longer a safe place for President Donald Trump to visit, as Democrats grapple with the narrative that many of their cities are becoming hotbeds for violence.
Cuomo was speaking to reporters from Albany when he made comments which could be interpreted as encouraging or celebrating political intimidation against the president.
“He can’t have enough bodyguards to walk through New York City,” Cuomo said of Trump, who is a native of New York.
“Forget bodyguards, he better have an army if he thinks he’s going to walk down the streets in New York,” the governor said.
Cuomo continued: “He is persona non grata in New York City, and I think he knows that, and he’ll never come back to New York, because New Yorkers will never forget how gratuitously mean he has been.”
The comment was made the same day Trump vowed to look into ways of penalizing cities which allow their streets to become centers for lawlessness.
My Administration will do everything in its power to prevent weak mayors and lawless cities from taking Federal dollars while they let anarchists harm people, burn buildings, and ruin lives and businesses. We’re putting them on notice today. @RussVought45
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2020
“My administration will do everything in its power to prevent weak mayors and lawless cities from taking federal dollars while they let anarchists harm people, burn buildings, and ruin lives and businesses,” Trump tweeted Wednesday.
He added: “We’re putting them on notice today.”
Following Cuomo’s controversial comments, a spokesperson for the governor dialed them back.
“A gubernatorial spokesperson later clarified that Cuomo did not mean that the president would literally need such additional protection, but was simply illustrating how unwelcome he would be in the city,” Politico reported.
On Wednesday, Trump ordered a review of cities such as New York City, with the goal of possibly withholding federal funds for those with leaders who defund police agencies and allow “lawless” protests to continue, according to the New York Post, which cited a memo signed by the president.
Other cities reportedly under review are Washington, D.C., Seattle and Portland, Oregon.
Trump was quoted in the memo as saying: “My Administration will not allow Federal tax dollars to fund cities that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones.”
He reportedly added: “To ensure that Federal funds are neither unduly wasted nor spent in a manner that directly violates our Government’s promise to protect life, liberty, and property, it is imperative that the Federal Government review the use of Federal funds by jurisdictions that permit anarchy, violence, and destruction in America’s cities.”
The Post reported that Trump mentioned New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio twice by name in the memo.
Trump fired back at Cuomo on Thursday, blaming the governor and a since-scrapped state policy preventing nursing homes from turning away coronavirus patients for the deaths of vulnerable New Yorkers.
Trump laid the deaths of 11,000 people on the governor:
.@NYGovCuomo should get his puppet New York prosecutors, who have been illegally after me and my family for years, to investigate his incompetent handling of the China Virus, and all of the deaths caused by this incompetence. It is at minimum a Nursing Home Scandal – 11,000 DEAD!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2020
“It is at minimum a Nursing Home Scandal — 11,000 DEAD!” Trump wrote.
Trump’s response to Cuomo was a likely reference to a report from The Associated Press last month saying estimates that 6,600 people died in New York in nursing homes were off, and the number may be closer to 11,000.
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