The ongoing friction between New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and President Donald Trump turned into a war of words on Friday.
During the governor's daily coronavirus briefing, President Trump tweeted that Cuomo should stop complaining and start working after the governor said New York's efforts to ramp up coronavirus testing as it looks to reopen the economy will fall short without the federal government's help.
"Governor Cuomo should spend more time 'doing' and less time 'complaining.' Get out there and get the job done. Stop talking!" Trump tweeted.
After a reporter read the tweet aloud, the governor instantly reacted saying, "First of all, if he's sitting home watching TV maybe he should get up and go to work. Second, let's keep emotion and politics out of this, and personal ego if we can, because this is about the people and it's about our job."
The president's tweet went on to say, "We built you thousands of hospital beds that you didn't need or use, gave large numbers of ventilators that you should have had, and helped you with, testing that you should be doing. 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!"
The governor replied, "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 you're projections Mr. President."
Cuomo said Friday that hospitalizations, ICU admissions and intubations continue to go down in the state while daily number of coronavirus-related deaths refuse to come down dramatically.
The death toll rose by 630 from Thursday to Friday, bringing the statewide total to 12,822, while the number of new cases continues to hover around 2,000 each day.
"You still have 2,000 people coming in the door every day, so don't get cocky, don't get arrogant," Cuomo said, adding that while the curve continues to flatten this is no time to let your guard down.
The state continues to track the virus as it looks to head into the reopening phase of the pandemic.
"The situation now is unsustainable, we can't keep the economy closed forever, society can't handle it personally or economically," Cuomo said, cautioning, "You're not going to hear anytime soon that the nightmare ends and it's over." He said that will only come with the arrival of a vaccine.
Cuomo said "unpausing" New York will be an incremental process dependent on an increase in testing.
"We must develop testing capacity that doesn't exist, test people on higher volume, trace them to find other positives, and isolate them," Cuomo said, adding, "The federal government has to be part of this approach and part of this answer. We cannot do it without federal help."
President Trump on Thursday released guidelines for opening up America that he said will be up to state governors to implement, but Cuomo said New York's ability to restart its economy will require federal aid.
"Don't ask the states to do this — 'It's up to the governors'— Ok. Is there any funding so I can do these things that you want us to do? No. That is passing the buck without passing the bucks," Cuomo said, adding that he and other governors have publicly requested $500 billion for the states that would be allocated based on need.
Trump insisted Friday, "The States have to step up their TESTING!"
Cuomo said he's issuing an executive order directing all public and private labs in New York to coordinate with the State Department of Health to ensure prioritizing diagnostic testing for public health and restarting the economy.
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