Trump slams Cuomo over 'apology tour' as NY governor warns public should be 'skeptical' of COVID vaccine

close

Video

Orthodox Jewish Groups sue NY Gov. Cuomo over coronavirus lockdowns

An all-girls school fights back against New York Gov. Cuomo’s 'crusade' against the Jewish community; The Becket Fund Executive Director Montse Alvarado explains on ‘Fox & Friends Weekend.’

President Trump on Monday slammed New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for taking a so-called “apology tour” to promote his book on leadership while New York is still suffering fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. 

“Governor Cuomo has shown tremendously poor leadership skills in running N.Y. Bad time for him to be writing and promoting a book, especially since he has done such a poor job with Covid and Crime,” Trump tweeted. “So many unnecessary deaths. The City & State have sunk to historic lows…Washington wants nothing to do with him, and that’s so bad for New York, which has become a ghost town.”

Trump then attacked the Democratic governor for supposedly spending “too much time listening to his brother, Fredo” – a reference to CNN’s Chris Cuomo, who is Cuomo’s younger brother.

CASKEY OUTSIDE BROOKLYN NURSING HOME FILLED WITH 6,500 COVERS OF CUOMO'S BOOK

Trump has referred to Cuomo as “Fredo” since a 2019 incident in which the CNN anchor was caught on video snapping at a man who used the term to greet him. Fredo is a reference to Fredo Corleone, the weak and facile brother in the movie “The Godfather.”

“Forget the books and your apology tour,” Trump tweeted. “The Federal Government would love to help New York regain its luster!”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a ceremony unveiling a statue of Mother Frances Cabrini, the patron saint of immigrants, in Battery Park in New York, on Oct 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

Trump’s tweet Monday afternoon comes less than a week after the release of Cuomo’s new book: “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic.” In the book, Cuomo describes his administration’s response to the burgeoning coronavirus pandemic.

Later Monday, Cuomo chastised Trump, tweeting: “C’mon Donald—you didn’t read my book, everyone knows you don’t read.”

He then slammed Trump for his own leadership during the pandemic, writing: “There are lessons to learn & you still haven’t.”

“With 8.2M+ Americans infected, you are the #1 super-spreader. Enjoy life in FL (POS rate 12%) in 2 weeks; NY (POS rate 1.1%) won’t miss you. PS- Wear a mark.”

WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL SLAMS NY GOV. CUOMO OVER 'HIGHLY IRRESPONSIBLE' COMMENTS ON COVID VACCINE

Cuomo earned accolades for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic when it broke out earlier this year. But he has received some criticism for a controversial policy in late March that required nursing homes to take in patients so long as they were medically stable.

More than 6,300 COVID-positive patients were admitted to nursing homes between March 25 and May, according to a report from the New York state health department. The high number of admitted patients has been widely blamed for the state’s official care home death toll of more than 6,600.

An analysis from the state health department determined that there was no causal link because “the timing of admissions versus fatalities shows that it could not be the driver of nursing home infections of fatalities.”

In an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Cuomo said he was “not that confident” in the Food and Drug Administration’s approval process in obtaining a coronavirus vaccine.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“You’re going to say to the American people now, ‘here’s a vaccine, it was new, it was done quickly, but trust this federal administration and trust their health administration that it’s safe and we’re not a 100% sure of the consequences’?” Cuomo said. “I think it’s going to be a very skeptical American public about taking the vaccine. And they should be.”