President Trump blasts governors over nursing homes policies, mail-in voting proposals amid COVID-19 crisis
Democratic governors struggle with coronavirus controversies; reaction and analysis on 'The Five.'
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"The Five" co-hosts Geraldo Rivera and Dana Perino weighed in Tuesday on the ongoing feud between President Trump and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo over each other's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, particularly the question of who bears responsibility for the thousands of nursing home deaths in the Empire State.
"I think that what happened in New York and other big states with the nursing homes, Jesse, is an absolute scandal," Rivera told co-host Jesse Watters. "The death rates in those nursing homes [are] far exceeding that of the population generally. In some states, half of all of the deaths come from these nursing homes.
"They're too damn big," Rivera added. "... This whole industry has to be reforged. The president now is suggesting various reforms that are necessary. But I think that it's even deeper than that."
CUOMO DOWNPLAYS CALLS FOR FEDERAL PROBE INTO NURSING HOME CORONAVIRUS DEATHS: 'ASK PRESIDENT TRUMP'
"I think the whole idea of warehousing old-timers [in places] where one infected person can destroy, you know, the whole establishment ... We have to change the way we care for the elderly."
Cuomo is set to meet with Trump in Washington Wednesday to discuss a number of topics amid efforts to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, including a way to begin working on critical infrastructure projects to jumpstart the economy.
Over the weekend, Cuomo defected blame for the nursing home deaths, saying he was following federal guidelines.
"New York followed the president's agencies' guidance," the governor said Saturday. "... What New York did was follow what the Republican administration said to do. That's not my attempt to politicize it. It's my attempt to depoliticize it. So don't criticize the state for following the president's policy."
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Perino said that Cuomo is "feeling the pressure" on the issue after initially being widely praised for his overseeing of the state's response.
"The governor of New York, I think, finally is feeling the pressure after some sustained attention on this issue," she said. "Not from everybody, but finally, I think because advocates for the elderly, family members of these people that died in nursing homes ... about 10 years earlier than they would have if they didn't have coronavirus in these places with the treatment that they got.
"So imagine being robbed of 10 years of your loved one."
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