'President' Andrew Cuomo's coronavirus response earns him 'wartime' leader tag as Trump and Biden slammed
In a crisis, there lies an opportunity. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has stood up to the occasion and was even branded as a possible contender for the presidential post in the 2020 election by many social media users. The 62-year-old is facing one of the toughest battles of his life as a provincial leader in America as the number of COVID-19 cases in his state crossed 15,000 and over 50 deaths were reported. Overall in the US, over 35,000 cases of coronavirus were confirmed.
On Saturday, March 21, the hashtag #PresidentCuomo started trending on Twitter as the users praised Cuomo’s ‘presidential’ demeanor in addressing the health disaster both within and outside the state. While Cuomo, on one hand, set guidelines for how individuals can prevent the outbreak of COVID-19, he criticized the federal administration for not giving more aid to the states while laying down specific ways in which such help could have been extended.
The rise of Cuomo, who is in charge of the Empire State for almost a decade now, puts him in stark contrast to President Donald Trump, who has failed to be as convincing in his response to the outbreak. Cuomo and Trump have also found themselves in the middle of a clash over the way the Trump administration has responded to the pandemic. While Cuomo sought a uniform response on behalf of the federal administration, Trump hit back at him, saying all states were not affected the same way and accused the Democrat of mixing the crisis with politics.
On two occasions last week, it so happened that Trump’s briefings from the White House were deferred until the end of Cuomo’s press talks from Albany.
Trump was also slammed by many users over his claim that he is a “wartime president”. They said the real ‘wartime president’ was Cuomo.
Cuomo’s ‘presidential’ tag gained even more momentum as the two presidential candidates racing for the Democratic nomination — former vice president Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders — have also struggled to come up with a solid response to the crisis. It was asked at several quarters why the two presidential candidates were not as active as they should be at the time of the crisis.
How Twitterati reacted
“I feel like so many people around the country are turning to @NYGovCuomo for guidance, facts, and empathy during this crucial time. Makes me proud to be a New Yorker! #PresidentCuomo,” @debillperson66 tweeted.
“#PresidentCuomo is my Governor I'm happy & proud to say. I don't agree with him about everything, but I think he's doing a helluva job for the state of New York right now. I feel safer with him in charge,” @akailiajade said.
“President Cuomo is really raising the bar for leadership [right now], and I'm here for it. #PresidentCuomo#CoronavirusPandemic,” @j_m_storm added.
“Proud to have Gov Cuomo not only leading NY but also the country. #PresidentCuomo,” @RastaRusty said.
“The U.S. needs Andrew Cuomo as its wartime President and not the phony and fraud currently in the White House,” @RobShattuckAL06 tweeted.
Cuomo's strong reaction to young revelers draws praise
Cuomo particularly earned praise for his stern reaction to youngsters who enjoyed spring breaks recently, defying the unwritten norm of social distancing the world is following at the moment. He slammed the teens and young adults a number of times last week after their photographs and videos emerged.
On Thursday, March 19, Cuomo told reporters that those revelers saying it is their spring break and they had decided to party sounded “unintelligent” and “reckless”. “I can't even begin to express it,” he added.