Governor Cuomo Calls Trump The ‘Great Divider In Chief’ and ‘King Trump’
According to ABC News, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo referred to President Trump as both the “great divider in chief” and “King Trump” during a political speech in Brooklyn on Sunday.
Delivering a campaign speech at First Baptist Church of Crown Heights on Sunday morning, Cuomo declared that his ongoing conflict or quarrel with President Trump “is not just politics as usual.”
“This debate we’re having with the president is really about the country we want to be,” Cuomo said. “This is about our values, our beliefs, our character.”
“It is a frightening portrait,” he noted. “Trump’s America is one of division and intolerance.”
President Trump lashed out at Cuomo via Twitter last week for mocking and denouncing his campaign slogan, “Make American Great Again.” While attending a bill signing ceremony last week, Cuomo had claimed, “We’re not going to make America great again. It was never that great. We have not reached greatness. We will reach greatness when every American is fully engaged.”
After insulting the New York governor, Trump went on to call Cuomo’s remark “career threatening.”
“When a politician admits that ‘We’re not going to make America great again,'” the president tweeted, “there doesn’t seem to be much reason to ever vote for him.”
Cuomo’s spokesperson, Dani Lever, later attempted to rephrase the governor’s previous comment, saying, “The Governor believes that when everyone is fully included and everyone is contributing to their maximum potential, that is when America will achieve maximum greatness.” The governor himself even referred to his own words as “inartful.”
Cuomo, who is running against first-time candidate and former actress Cynthia Nixon in the upcoming Democratic primary in September, has centered a majority of his campaign rhetoric around President Trump, rather than his Democratic opponent. According to a recent report from The New York Times, Cuomo’s “anti-Trump strategy is informed by months of focus groups and survey research” by poll-focused campaign strategists.
Wow! Big pushback on Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York for his really dumb statement about America’s lack of greatness. I have already MADE America Great Again, just look at the markets, jobs, military- setting records, and we will do even better. Andrew “choked” badly, mistake!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2018
A Quinnipiac University poll conducted in July determined that the president has a 36% approval rating in the state of New York. Therefore, Cuomo’s focus on Trump might be a more effective strategy than going after Nixon instead.
In continuation with his speech, Cuomo claimed, “I believe it’s un-American to deny a young persons dream to come to college, I believe its un-American to take babies out of the arms of their mothers because they want to come to this country.”
Then, going on to address the president directly, Cuomo said, “Mr. Trump, I’ve known you for 30 years you may be a slick salesman who fooled a lot of people in this country, but you didn’t fool me and you didn’t fool a lot of New Yorkers.”
