NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo's new book entitled "American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic," recounts day-to-day details of attempting to handle the coronavirus crisis beginning in March with personal anecdotes about his family during that time and his encounters with the Trump administration.
Cuomo accused the Trump administration of "extortion" for a threat made by White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in the book that's set to be released next week, The Guardian first reported.
The gov. writes that Meadows phoned the governor and in March and demanded clinical test results on hydroxychloroquine, a drug that President Trump had called a potential cure for the COVID-19 virus.
Meadows phoned the governor and in March and demanded clinical test results on hydroxychloroquine, a drug that President Trump had called a potential cure for the COVID-19 virus.
At the time, New York hospitals were testing the drug due to the state's high infection rate and Cuomo recounts telling Meadows that when the results would be sent over to the FDA once ready.
Meadows then told Cuomo that the federal government would soon release hospital funding to states and "strongly implied" that New York "wouldn't receive any funding" if the tests didn't arrive soon.
"Government Ethics 101 tells you that's a no-no," Cuomo wrote. "Quid pro quos are no bueno."
With the help of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Cuomo recounts how he was able to convince Trump in April, to agree to waive the 25 percent share of FEMA expenses the state would have to pay for COVID aid.
He also notes that it didn't take much time for Trump to screw over New Yorkers.
"To this day," Cuomo said, the Federal Emergency Management Agency still refuses to grant a waiver "that the president agreed to."
He also mentioned his complicated relationship with Mayor Bill de Blasio as "problematic" and "complicated but noting that they were personal friends.
Cuomo divulges that wearing his emotions on his sleeve played a major role in managing the coronavirus crisis even if it could become a political liability.
"If I didn't connect emotionally with people, they would never have the trust and confidence in me to follow my proposals," he wrote.
"I can't" Cuomo said when trying to describe his experience. "It was all a scene from a reality TV show,"
