WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said he and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo agreed in an Oval Office meeting Tuesday to work to double coronavirus testing in the hard-hit state over the next few weeks.
“We will work together to help them secure additional tests,” Trump said. “And we hope that this model will work with the other states as well.”
The meeting marked a sharp shift in rhetoric between the two politicians. Days earlier, Trump had called on Cuomo to work harder to secure testing material for his state. Cuomo had pushed back that the president should turn off his television and get back to work.
Cuomo, who described the meeting as “effective and functional,” said he told Trump a rapid increase in testing was a crucial “benchmark” that his state and others need before they can safely reopen their economies and help communities return to a semblance of normalcy.
Trump and Cuomo have parried through the media throughout the pandemic, a back-and-forth that has included insults, sharply contrasting views on the role of the federal government and some moments of mutual admiration.
The meeting Tuesday was their first face-to-face interaction since the global crisis began. New York, with more than 14,000 deaths, has been the hardest hit state in the country.
Before their meeting, Cuomo told reporters that Trump is right in saying that “states should take the lead” on testing, but the federal government needs to manage the flow of supplies from abroad while governors are “trying to put together their testing protocol in their state.”
“I think in many ways we’re talking past each other,” Cuomo said.
“We will work together to help them secure additional tests,” Trump said. “And we hope that this model will work with the other states as well.”
The meeting marked a sharp shift in rhetoric between the two politicians. Days earlier, Trump had called on Cuomo to work harder to secure testing material for his state. Cuomo had pushed back that the president should turn off his television and get back to work.
Cuomo, who described the meeting as “effective and functional,” said he told Trump a rapid increase in testing was a crucial “benchmark” that his state and others need before they can safely reopen their economies and help communities return to a semblance of normalcy.
Trump and Cuomo have parried through the media throughout the pandemic, a back-and-forth that has included insults, sharply contrasting views on the role of the federal government and some moments of mutual admiration.
The meeting Tuesday was their first face-to-face interaction since the global crisis began. New York, with more than 14,000 deaths, has been the hardest hit state in the country.
Before their meeting, Cuomo told reporters that Trump is right in saying that “states should take the lead” on testing, but the federal government needs to manage the flow of supplies from abroad while governors are “trying to put together their testing protocol in their state.”
“I think in many ways we’re talking past each other,” Cuomo said.
Asked if he’s had to walk a “fine line” in dealing with the president, Cuomo said: “Life is a fine line.”
“He has no problem telling me when he disagrees,” Cuomo told reporters Tuesday before departing for Washington. “And he tells me when he agrees. I have no problem telling him when I disagree and when I agree.”
Cuomo, according to aides, has deliberately used both the carrot and the stick in dealing with a president who is extremely sensitive about his media image and how governors respond to him.
At times, he has preemptively praised the president on cable news hits, trying to gently persuade him to do more. He has made a point of thanking Trump — resulting in video clips that the president has eagerly showed off in the White House briefing room in recent days.
But at other times, Cuomo has shown no hesitation to lace into the president, including during a recent monologue in which he urged Trump to stop watching television and to “get back to work” safeguarding American lives during the pandemic.
Trump often catches at least some of Cuomo’s daily briefings and has expressed annoyance to aides at the positive press that the governor has received, according to advisers. He has reveled in the bits of praise he has received from Cuomo — and other Democratic governors.
Cuomo and other governors are also pushing for $500 billion in unrestricted aid from the federal government for states to offset revenue shortfalls resulting from the outbreak.
The Senate on Tuesday approved a nearly $500 billion coronavirus aid package for small businesses, including additional help for hospitals and virus testing. Cuomo said he was disappointed it didn’t include direct aid for states.
“I think it’s a terrible mistake not to provide funding for the states,” Cuomo said. “I get small businesses, I get airlines. How about police? How about fire? How about health care workers? How about teachers?”
Cuomo told MSNBC that Trump seemed “very open and understanding” on the need to include more aid for states in the next round of coronavrius aid.
As reported by Vos Iz Neias