President Trump claimed that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo wasn’t ‘gracious’ after the government sent medical supplies during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Trump’s remarks came during a winding press conference Saturday where he touched on a bevy of topics, from coronavirus-riddled USS Theodore Roosevelt and the whistleblower who sparked the impeachment investigation.
‘We have given the governor of New York more than anybody has ever been given in a long time,’ said Trump.
‘And I think he’s happy but…I watched what he said today, and it was fine. I wouldn’t say gracious, it wasn’t gracious, it was OK.’
During a press conference Saturday, President Trump (left) claimed Gov. Andrew Cuomo (right) wasn’t ‘gracious’ for the medical supplies New York has received
However, Trump praised Mayor Bill de Blasio as ‘nice’ and the said ‘he understands what we’ve given him.’
The number of coronavirus infections in New York state has rose to 113,704 and nearly 4,000 deaths. New York City has at least 63,306 cases and 2,624 deaths.
Most recently, the Justice Department announced that they would send hundreds of thousands of hoarded medical supplies to New York and New Jersey.
The FBI said they retrieved 192,000 N95 respirator masks, 130,000 surgical masks, 598,000 medical gloves and other important supplies like hand sanitizers, gowns, and disinfectant sprays.
Trump (pictured): ‘We have given the governor of New York more than anybody has ever been given in a long time…and I think he’s happy but…I watched what he said today, and it was fine’
‘If you are amassing critical medical equipment for the purpose of selling it at exorbitant prices, you can expect a knock at your door,’ said AG William Bar in a statement.
‘The Department of Justice’s COVID-19 Hoarding and Price Gouging Task Force is working tirelessly around the clock with all our law enforcement partners to ensure that bad actors cannot illicitly profit from the COVID-19 pandemic facing our nation.’
The Trump administration also approved of sending the USNS Comfort, a Navy hospital ship with 1,000 beds for non-coronavirus patients, to New York City.
Trump mentioned the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine – which is currently unproven to treat coronavirus – throughout the press conference.
This comes in stark contrast to Cuomo, whose executive order banned pharmacies from dispensing hydroxychloroquine unless for experimental use or in a state approved clinical trial.
As more than 8,000 coronavirus deaths rock the United States, healthcare workers wheel the bodies of deceased people from the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn
‘In fact, I may take it myself,’ Trump said of the anti-malaria drug.
‘We’re hearing really positive stories, and we’re continuing to collect the data. There’s a study out that says people with lupus are not catching this horrible virus … it’s a game-changer if it checks out,’ he added.
Trump and Cuomo’s ongoing feud has only intensified as they’ve public tussles over medical supplies, possibly placing New York on quarantine and other hurdles.
During a press conference in the White House Rose Garden, he urged reporters at the briefing to investigate New York hospitals, saying typical requests for masks have gone dramatically up.
‘How do you go from 10,000 to 20,000 masks to 300,000?’ he asked.
Trump acknowledged that ‘even though this is different’ referring to the coronavirus outbreak, that reporters at the briefing ‘ought to look into it.’
‘Where are the masks going? Are they going out the back door?’ Trump asked at the briefing.
Trump blasted Cuomo for ‘complaining’ too much and suggested healthcare workers in New York City were hoarding surgical masks.
Cuomo (pictured) argued for more medical supplies for New York after Trump accused him of exaggerating the state’s needs
Cuomo hit back by saying he creates protocol based on facts, not opinions.
He said: ‘I don’t have a crystal ball. Everybody is entitled to an opinion, but I don’t operate here on opinion.
‘I operate on facts and data and numbers and projections… all of them say you could have an apex needing about 40,000 ventilators.’
The President previously accused Cuomo of exaggerating New York state’s medical needs, specifically ventilators.
As of Saturday, Cuomo revealed that New York’s coronavirus apex is likely to hit next week.
He said: ‘By the numbers, we’re not yet at the apex. We’re getting closer depending whose model you’re looking at. By the numbers, we’re not yet at the apex. We’re getting closer depending whose model you’re looking at.’
The United States, which has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus infections, recorded 311,632 and 8,503 deaths.
