First he was aloof about his order, telling nursing homes experiencing shortages in PPE that that was “not his problem.” Then it was revealed that his administration had been undercouting nursing home deaths from COVID-19. Then he declared that people in nursing homes are going to die of COVID regardless of what action is taken.
Now Gov. Andrew Cuomo is blaming Donald Trump for the 5,000 deaths resulting at least in part from a New York issue an order forcing nursing homes to take on patients that had tested positive for coronavirus. Cuomo addded that any calls for a federal investigation into his state’s response to the pandemic and nursing homes is simply a political ploy.
“This is a political season, I get it,” Cuomo squirmed. “I’m not going to get into the political back-and-forth, but anyone who wants to ask why did the state do that with COVID patients in nursing homes, it’s because the state followed President Trump’s CDC guidance.”
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
Shifting blame to the White House is the very definition of a “political back-and-forth.”
He then doubled down in blaming Trump. “They should ask President Trump. I think that will stop the conversation,” he said.
Cuomo’s Deadly Mistake
The death toll in nursing homes in New York has exceeded 5,600, even as the governor’s administration has been caught shifting the criteria to lower the numbers.
Cuomo issued an order on March 25 stating, “No resident shall be denied readmission or admission to NH solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19.” He then failed to reverse the directive for six weeks as deaths mounted.
This man, who has done everything the exact opposite as Trump for three years now suddenly wants you to believe he was simply following the president’s advice.
Pressed further, Cuomo said he would have no opposition to an investigation. “I’m not resistant,” he said. “If the federal government wants to start a probe, then they can start a probe.”
He added, “It is irrelevant to me. … President Trump does what he wants to do. He doesn’t listen to a governor.”
Cuomo and Murphy run the two states with the highest death tolls (29K in NY, 11K in NJ). Neither protected nursing homes.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) May 20, 2020
Shrugs Off Deaths cuomo nursing homes
Cuomo shocked reporters earlier this week when he downplayed the coronavirus deaths in nursing homes.
“What would you say to families who have suffered losses inside nursing homes?” one reporter asked him.
“Older people, vulnerable people are going to die from this virus. That is going to happen despite whatever [sic] you do,” Cuomo replied. “Because with all our progress as a society, we can’t keep everyone alive.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo rationalizing:
“Older people, vulnerable people are going to die from this virus. That is going to happen despite whatever you do”
— James Hirsen (@thejimjams) May 18, 2020
Cuomo also suggested that in the event there is an investigation into his administration’s actions, nobody could be prosecuted. “What is justice? Who can we prosecute for those deaths? Nobody. Nobody,” he rationalized. “Mother nature? God? Where did this virus come from? People are going to die by this virus.”
Nobody is to blame, in Cuomo’s mind. Well, except Trump.
If there were any real reporters in New York, they’d start investigating Cuomo on their own. Instead, they hail him as a hero when the number of dead in New York far outpaces the rest of the country, and the governor has his fingerprints on a significant percentage of them.
Cross posted at the Mental Recession
