Andrew Cuomo: America was 'never that great'
New York governor says during speech that America has not reached greatness.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, facing a Democratic primary for re-election Sept. 13 against far-left “Sex and the City” actress Cynthia Nixon and no doubt considering a race for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, wants you to know America isn’t great, it’s never been great and it’s not going to be great again.
In an apparent attempt to polish his credentials as a member of the anti-Trump resistance, Cuomo took a verbal jab at President Trump’s “Make America Great” slogan at a bill-signing ceremony in New York Wednesday – and wound up punching himself in the face, drawing gasps from the audience for the absurdity of his statement.
“We are not going to make America great, America. It was never that great,” Cuomo said. “We have not reached greatness. We will reach greatness when every American is fully engaged.”
You can be sure Republicans will keep that incredible comment alive for as long as Cuomo remains active in politics. In fact, they owe the governor a debt of gratitude for giving them a video clip they can use in attack ads for years to come.
The New York Times reported: “The clip was quickly packaged by Republicans, and Marcus Molinaro, the Republican candidate for governor, said that Mr. Cuomo owed the nation an apology. ‘America, with its imperfections, has always been great,’ Mr. Molinaro said.”
And President Trump weighed in on Twitter, writing: ‘“WE’RE NOT GOING TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, IT WAS NEVER THAT GREAT.’ Can you believe this is the Governor of the Highest Taxed State in the U.S., Andrew Cuomo, having a total meltdown!”
Cuomo’s statement creates all sort of possibilities for memorable campaign slogans for his current campaign and possible run for president: “Make America Unexceptional Again.” “Make America Less Awful.” “America’s a Lousy Place, But It’s Home.”
Why is it that people who hold such contempt for this country want to represent it? Aren’t they the ones who say hate isn’t an American value?
Clearly, Cuomo has a lot to complain about in America under President Trump. Those federal tax cuts that have supercharged our economy – mere crumbs. The near record-low unemployment for Hispanic-Americans, African-Americans, and Asian-Americans – no biggie. The unemployment rate for women that’s at the lowest it’s been since 1953 – small potatoes. What about an economy that grew by a booming annualized rate of 4.1 percent in the last quarter? FUGGEDDABOUTIT.
After Cuomo dug himself into a hole with his silly comment, his press secretary, Dani Lever, tried to dig him out of it with a mea culpa, saying in a statement: “The Governor believes America is great and that her full greatness will be fully realized when every man, woman, and child has full equality. America has not yet reached its maximum potential.”
Hmm ... there’s another winning slogan in there somewhere: “Make America Maximumly Great!” Yeah, go with that.
Andrew Cuomo’s comments contradict what his father – the far more eloquent and politically savvy then-Gov. Mario Cuomo – said at the Democratic National Convention in 1984. The elder Cuomo lauded America as the “greatest nation” while telling the story of his parents, who came to the U.S. from Italy, learned English, worked hard and watched him go on to become governor.
Mario Cuomo said his parents “were able to build a family and live in dignity and see one of their children go from behind their little grocery store in South Jamaica on the other side of the tracks where he was born, to occupy the highest seat, in the greatest state, in the greatest nation, in the only world we would know, is an ineffably beautiful tribute to the democratic process.”
Andrew Cuomo’s not in the same league as his late father. Where Mario Cuomo praised the greatness of our great nation, Andrew Cuomo says – hey, it’s not so hot.
Andrew Cuomo and other Democrats are absolutely desperate to bring down President Trump. So they’re falling back on a strategy of the same old stale liberal talking points – the president is sexist, racist, unhinged, whatever. Basically he’s just an awful human being who hates everybody – so all Americans should hate him. Get it?
However, that spin isn’t as effective as the Democrats would like. A new CNN poll showed that President Trump's approval rating of 42 percent is higher than the 39 percent rating for former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton in August of their second year in office, and it’s even slightly above the 41 percent rating for President Reagan in August of 1982.
The younger Cuomo, like most members of the liberal elite today, just hates President Trump – but that’s not exactly a political philosophy or campaign theme that will win elections. The scary truth is that their hatred for Trump is greater than their love for America. The president could cure cancer, save all the baby whales and feed every homeless person – and they’d still criticize him and be ashamed of our country and want it to fail.
Remember when comedian Bill Maher said he was rooting for a recession? Nothing like another 10 or 20 million people on food stamps. But hey, the end justifies the means, right Mr. Marx, uh, Maher?
“I’m hoping for it because one way you get rid of Trump is a crashing economy. So please, bring on the recession,” the oh-so compassionate Maher mused. “Sorry if that hurts people but it’s either root for a recession or you lose your democracy.” How warm, sensitive and caring of the millionaire celebrity.
Cuomo is in good company with his arrogant attitude toward our great nation. In February 2008, during her husband’s presidential campaign Michelle Obama said: “For the first time in my adult lifetime, I’m really proud of my country.” For the first time? She was 44 years old in 2008. And she only came around to being proud of her country because her husband was running for president?
The message we can take from Democrats is that when the political pendulum is swinging their way, America is great and they are proud of their country. However when it swings the other direction, our country quickly becomes a deplorable, shameful place and we should root for its failure, no matter how much we’re thriving.
This week in New York, President Trump challenged Cuomo to run against him in 2020: “Please do it. Please.”
Yes, please do it, governor.
Most Americans vote for the things that make their lives better, the things that make our country succeed – the things that make America great. They reject bitterness and malaise, but if that’s what you want to sell as your campaign platform, Gov. Cuomo, good luck with that. You’ll need it.
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