Melissa Francis slams NY leadership: Cuomo blew it, De Blasio an 'incredible hypocrite'
Melissa Francis rips Governor Cuomo and Mayor De Blasio for failing to make the New York City 'safe and livable'
Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo seemed to escalate his ongoing feud with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, threatening to "displace" him for his mishandling of the George Floyd protests that have taken place in recent days but the media has been largely silent about the governor's remarks and has been singing a different tune to President Trump's threat to deploy the military to states facing riots.
Cuomo spoke after another night of devastation in the Big Apple, after protests in response to the death of George Floyd again devolved into riots and looting. The New York City Police Department told Fox News that 700 arrests were made overnight. A half dozen police officers were injured and at least six police vehicles were vandalized.
"The NYPD and the mayor did not do their job last night, I believe that," Cuomo said of the mayor.
Cuomo said at a press conference that the mayor "underestimates" the scope and duration of the problem, suggesting he needs to deploy more police. "You have 38,000 NYPD people, it is the largest police department in the United States of America," he said. "Use 38,000 people and protect property. Use the police, protect property and people. Look at the videos, it was a disgrace." In an extraordinary statement, he went on to say his "option is to displace the mayor ... bring in the National Guard" and essentially "take over." However, he said, "I don't think we're at that point." He added, "That would be such a chaotic situation in the midst of an already chaotic situation. I don’t think that makes any sense."
Cuomo was responding, in part, to calls from President Trump for him to accept his offer of a "dominating National Guard."
The New York governor, who had glowing press coverage in the early weeks of the coronavirus outbreak, received very little media attention regarding his inflammatory threat. Meanwhile, many in the media condemned President Trump for suggesting that he would send in the military to quell the riots if mayors and governors across the country could not quell them themselves.
"For this very moment that just happened right before our eyes, why were we pretending otherwise? Open your eyes, America. Open your eyes. We are teetering on a dictatorship," CNN anchor Don Lemon decried on Monday. "This is chaos. Has the president -- I'm listening, is the president declaring war on Americans? What is happening here?"
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"He's all but calling on authorities to crack skulls at these protests," CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta claimed. "It's just not something you'd normally see in the United States of America. It's something you'd see in more authoritarian countries."
Fox News contributor Ari Fleisher called out the media disparity on social media.
"I’m no fan of deBlasio, but where is the media uproar over the Governor of NY threatening to remove the legally elected Mayor of NYC?" Fleisher asked. "Where are the charges of authoritarianism? Or how this would be anti-democratic? But I guess it’s ok to the passive press because Cuomo said it."
NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck suggested to Fox News that Cuomo will get a pass from the media.
"Seeing as how the ground that Cuomo walks on is still considered sacred by the liberal media, there's no chance he'll be condemned for employing tough talk against someone he doesn't like or someone with whom he doesn't get along with," Houck said. "The President could completely change his rhetoric, party affiliation, and even march with protesters, but the liberal media would still dismiss anything and everything that he'd say and do."
For weeks, the media largely avoided the growing nursing home controversy plaguing the New York governor. Cuomo reversed a March 25 order that forced nursing homes to accept patients who tested positive for coronavirus, despite testing deficiencies for both residents and staff. Cuomo signed an executive order on May 11 stopping hospitals from sending infected patients back to nursing homes and ramping up testing for staff.
Over 5,800 people have died from COVID-19 in nursing homes in New York. Roughly 20 percent of all deaths in the state have occurred in nursing homes.
Fox News' Greg Norman and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
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