Cuomo Takes Jab At Trump’s Priorities: ‘Job One Has To Save Lives. That Has To Be The Priority.’

Topline: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo took a pointed jab at President Trump Tuesday over his suggestion that the U.S. could lift public health measures like social distancing in order to spur on the economy, marking the latest turn in the testy relationship between the two as each grapples with leading during the crisis. 

• In his daily press conference Tuesday Cuomo acknowledged that it is “unsustainable” to close down the economy for a long period while the country fights coronavirus, but spoke bluntly about weighing the cost of saving human lives against that of restarting the economy. 
• “If you ask the American people to choose between public health and the economy, then it’s no contest. No American is going to say, ‘Accelerate the economy at the cost of human life,’” he said. “Job one has to be [to] save lives. That has to be the priority.”
• Cuomo’s comments followed Trump’s seeming willingness Monday to bring people back to work within the next few weeks and end social distancing to restart the economy, against the advice of public health experts.
• Texas lieutenant governor Dan Patrick went one step further and said older people would be willing to die if it meant kickstarting the American economy for future generations emdash— the comments sparked backlash on social media, with the hashtag #NotDying4WallStreet going viral. 
• Cuomo suggested refining the current strategy in place: instead of a blanket quarantine on the whole population, younger people and those with resolved coronavirus cases could go back to work, which could re-engage the economy and protect elderly and vulnerable populations by allowing them to further quarantine.
• “There’s a smarter approach to this— you don’t have to choose between the two,” Cuomo said. “You’re refining your public health strategy and at the same time restarting the economy. Those two can be consistent if done intelligently.”

Key background: This isn’t the first time Cuomo and Trump have butted heads. With a history that goes back three decades, the two have gone back and forth, with Cuomo even basing much of his campaign for a third gubernatorial term on his opposition to the Trump administration.That’s not to say they haven’t had their good moments; as recently as last week, Cuomo complimented Trump’s actions to fight coronavirus: “The President and I agreed we’re fighting the same war. This is a war; we’re in the trenches. We’re going to do everything we can do to help the State of New York,” Cuomo said Wednesday.

What to watch for: New York state will focus on preparations ahead of a looming wave of coronavirus cases set to break in about 14 days when the apex of the pandemic is expected to hit the area, Cuomo said. They are asking for the federal government’s assistance in securing more ventilators, saying recent shipments from FEMA weren’t sufficient for what New York is up against. 

“You want a pat on the back for sending 400 ventilators?” he said at Monday’s press conference. “What are we going to do with 400 ventilators when we need 30,000?”