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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo blasted President Trump on Monday -- claiming the president is "facilitating" the spread of the novel coronavirus across the nation and calling him out for making the pandemic a “political” issue.
“Denying COVID is really advancing the COVID virus,” Cuomo said. “I know this is a politically charged environment right now, and, somehow, COVID has become a political issue, which, I’ve never heard of a virus becoming political, but in this environment, it has; but if you deny the problem, you will never solve it.”
Cuomo added: “We are not the United States of denial. We have never been a nation that has excelled because we refuse to admit the problem. We admit the problem and then we overcome the problem.”
MEADOWS SAYS THERE WILL NOT BE A NATIONAL MANDATE TO WEAR MASKS AMID COVID-19
Cuomo went on to criticize the president for repeatedly stating that more testing “makes us look like we have more cases, especially proportionally, than other countries.”
Trump has mentioned in the past that the more people who test positive for the coronavirus, the worse it makes the crisis look, despite the fact that experts have said a robust testing system is necessary for the nation to fully get back to normal in the wake of the pandemic. The Trump administration, also, has been largely behind the push to quickly increase testing capacity in the U.S. as part of what Trump called a "phenomenal" response to the crisis.
“If we don’t test, then we won’t know. And if you don’t know, then you have no problem,” Cuomo said sarcastically. “That’s a great way to go through life, isn’t it?”
“No more cancer tests, no more mammograms, and we don’t want to know. No more prostate checks, that will end prostate cancer. No more HIV tests and that will solve the AIDS issue,” Cuomo continued. “No. Not knowing does not mean you don’t have a problem.”
He added: “Mr. President, don’t be a co-conspirator of COVID. Do one simple thing. Acknowledge to the American people that COVID exists. It is a major problem. It is going to continue until we admit it and each of us stands up to do our part.”
Cuomo went on to say that if the president does not acknowledge the new surge in positive COVID-19 cases across the country, “then he is facilitating the virus. He is enabling the virus.”
“How did this become a political statement? This is common sense,” Cuomo said. “And let the president start by sending that signal very simply — just wear the masks.”
Cuomo then went on to blast Trump, claiming “he makes up facts” and “makes up science.”
CORONAVIRUS IN THE UNITED STATES: STATE BY STATE BREAKDOWN
“He wants to deny the COVID,” Cuomo said. “‘Well 'it’s like the flu.' 'It’s going to be gone by Easter'…He said all those things. None of them were true.
"Now we have a problem in 38 states because some people believed him," Cuomo added. “He is part of the current debacle that we are in."
Meanwhile, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on Monday defended the president and the administration’s response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“When we had testing problems, this president acted. When we had problems with ventilators, this president acted. When we had problems with PPP, this president acted.”
“And there is good news on the way,” he said. “Whether it’s therapeutics or a vaccine, help is on the way. We will be able to make sure that we deliver those by the end of the year.”
As of Monday, the United States reported more than 2.88 million positive cases of COVID-19 and more than 132,000 deaths.
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