New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) on Thursday had choice words for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and other Republican governors as coronavirus cases in several states spike.
During an interview on CNN on Thursday, Cuomo discussed the 14-day mandatory quarantine that he and other governors in the tri-state area instituted, which required travelers coming from coronavirus “hot spots” including Florida, Arizona and Texas to self-quarantine for two weeks.
Cuomo was then asked about his displeasure with DeSantis when he ordered a ban on travelers coming from New York. Cuomo responded that he said three months ago that “we’re playing politics with the virus and the virus is going to win.”
After a clip played of DeSantis saying “New York media was blowing a gasket” when he ordered a mandatory quarantine for those traveling from New York to Florida, Cuomo was pressed on what he would say to the Florida governor now that COVID-19 cases hit a new record in his state.
On Wednesday, Florida recorded more than 5,500 single day coronavirus cases. On average, Florida recorded over 3,000 cases per day in the past week.
Cuomo dug deeper into his criticism of DeSantis and other Republican governors for their approach to easing up coronavirus-related restrictions.
“I say to them all: Look at the numbers,” Cuomo said. “You played politics with this virus and you lost.”
Cuomo continued his tear by railing against Republican governors for treating the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic as “Democratic hyperbole.”
“You told the people of your state, and you told the people of this country, White House, ‘Don’t worry about it. Just open up, go about your business, this is all Democratic hyperbole,'” Cuomo said. “Oh, really? Now you see 27 states with the numbers going up. You see the death projections going up. You see the economy going down. It was never politics. It was always science. And they were in denial, and denial is not a life strategy.”
Watch Cuomo’s remarks below:
NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo to FL Gov. Ron DeSantis: "I say to them all, look at the numbers. You played politics with this virus and you lost." pic.twitter.com/uObPjyzgV5
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) June 25, 2020
