President Trump continued to criticize New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) on Friday after the governor claimed in a speech that America was “never that great.”
Trump attacked Cuomo in a tweet Friday morning, questioning “Which section of the sentence is worse?” after Cuomo made the remarks earlier this week at an event marking the signing of sex-trafficking bills into law.
“How does a politician, Cuomo, known for pushing people and businesses out of his state, not to mention having the highest taxes in the U.S., survive making the statement, WE’RE NOT GOING TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, IT WAS NEVER THAT GREAT? Which section of the sentence is worse?” the president tweeted.
“We’re not gonna make America great again,” Cuomo said at the event, riffing off “Make America Great Again,” Trump’s campaign slogan during his successful 2016 bid. “It was never that great.”
Cuomo went on in his remarks to state that America would become “great” when its populace was “fully engaged” in the political system.
{mosads}”We have not reached greatness,” he continued. “We will reach greatness when every American is fully engaged.”
“We will reach greatness when discrimination and stereotyping against women, 51 percent of our population, is gone,” he said. “And every woman’s full potential is realized and unleashed and every woman is making her full contribution. When that happens, this nation is going to be taken even higher.”
Cuomo’s office later clarified his remarks in a statement, lambasting the president for allegedly ignoring decades of America’s history of discrimination.
“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,” press secretary Dani Lever said.
“When the President speaks about making America great again — going back in time — he ignores the pain so many endured and that we suffered from slavery, discrimination, segregation, sexism and marginalized women’s contributions.”
Trump already blasted Cuomo, a frequent Trump critic, over the remark on Wednesday shortly after the speech, saying Cuomo was having “a total meltdown.”
The governor faces a primary challenge from activist and actress Cynthia Nixon (D), as well as a Republican challenger, Marcus Molinaro.