Audio & Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo Calls into NY1 News

Earlier today, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo called into NY1 News with Kristen Shaughnessy.

AUDIO is available here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's interview is available below:

Kristen Shaughnessy: Governor, let's start with the election. We thank you for joining us. The President casting doubt, sowing uncertainty about the democratic process. Want to talk to you. You're close to Joe Biden. Have you spoken with him today.

Governor Cuomo: I haven't spoken with him today, Kristen, but look, the election results unfolded over days which we knew they would. This is an election during a global pandemic . You had early voting and mail-in voting. So this is how it was going to happen, but where we are today, if this had been a normal election day it would been called a blowout, millions of votes in the popular vote, states that no one thought Joe Biden would win, and he's clearly the winner and for the President on his way out the door to be sowing discontent and to be telling Americans don't trust the electoral system, he has been a divisive force from day one and he is going to be a divisive force on the last day.

Kristen Shaughnessy: Let me ask you this, if the numbers come through as we expect them to be, you get a call from Joe Biden and he says I want you in my cabinet, would you go to Washington?

Governor Cuomo: I say I have to stay here and talk to Kristen Shaughnessy

Kristen Shaughnessy: That's a dodge. Would you go? Are you interested?

Governor Cuomo: Look, I said to New Yorkers when COVID first started my only agenda is New York. I'm not running for president, not running for vice president, not going to Washington. This is going to be a long road for New Yorkers. I want them to have total trust in what I'm saying. i have no agenda but being New York governor and I'm going to stay here and finish the job.

Kristen Shaughnessy: How confident are you that we could get a stimulus bill here in New York?

Governor Cuomo: I believe Joe Biden he will get a stimulus bill. He campaigned on it. He knows how necessary it is. This was just the Washington polarization that stopped it. I'm the Chairman of the National Governors Association, which is Democratic governors, Republican governors. All states need a stimulus. They need compensation for the cost of COVID and the lost revenue. Otherwise we'll wind up laying off essential workers which is the last thing we should be doing now.

Kristen Shaughnessy: Let's talk about coronavirus. We're talking about that daily record that was hit and we keep setting these new records which we don't want to set, but you had asked for the National Guard to come out to kind of enforce, to be at the airports. Talk about this. Are we in the middle of a second wave? Are we seeing a second wave here?

Governor Cuomo: It's not technically a second wave, Kristen, because the second wave anticipates the virus mutates and then there is a second virus. That's what they mean by second wave. We're still in the first wave. We just have an incompetent government that never dealt with it federally and we now see, as all the scientists said, in the fall there's going to be a resurgence, global resurgence, national resurgence. The states that had been in denial are paying the highest price. The states that have done the best job of managing it had the lowest infection rate. Our infection rate in New York State, only Maine and Vermont have a lower infection rate believe it or not. I'm not taking anything away from Maine and Vermont, but they're more rural states, they don't have the density, they never had a COVID problem. So you'll see an overall increase with the fall. The question is how will you manage it and we're managing it well. That's why our infection rate is so low. We even today rolled back micro-cluster restrictions that we had in Brooklyn and Queens because our strategy is working. I'm now afraid of other states bringing it in during the holiday weekend and that's why we're deploying more National Guard to the airports.

Kristen Shaughnessy: Let me ask you this. You were, you've been talking to a number of the governors, and the state to stat response, as you mentioned, has been so different depending on where you are. Some states have mask mandates, some don't. Are you seeing a change in attitude as we head into the winter months? And as some of these Midwestern states get hit harder, some of these other states are really feeling the impact of COVID-19 now.

Governor Cuomo: I don't think you'll see a real change until President Trump is out the door. I talk to these Republican governors. A lot of this is Trump's politics and Trump's rhetoric. If you wear a mask you weren't pro-Trump. You were a democrat. You know we passed the first mask mandate in the United States of America in New York. It has saved lives. You look at the turnround in New York. We went from one of the highest infection rate in the nation to the lowest. It's inarguable, it's inarguable in the numbers. This is their politics that is overwhelming science. I think the Republican governors get it, but not until Trump is out the door, which isn't until January 21, don't forget. Are you going to see them really change course and follow the science, which is the smart thing to do.

Kristen Shaughnessy: Until then though we have to get through the holidays as you mentioned. Should people be traveling out of town for the holidays? Should you be allowing your family members to travel in town for the holidays?

Governor Cuomo: We have a very strict quarantine policy. Because our infection rate is so low, a big problem we have is people coming into this state. I worry about the Thanksgiving holiday. If they do come we have a quarantine policy, you have to take a test three days before you come and then you have to quarantine for three days and then take a test on the fourth day once you come. But Kristen, this is not the season to do it. I mean, I miss my family, I get it, I get COVID fatigue, I'm Italian, you know we're a big family gathering culture. But this is not the year to do it. It's really not. If you love someone, say I love you so much that I'm not going to see you this Thanksgiving. That's love.

Kristen Shaughnessy: Alright. And finally, I just want to ask you, there was an NYPD official, there's an internal investigation into this now, accused of racist and misogynistic language that was use don a blog. This was reported in The New York Times. And you've been paying close attention to that as well.

Governor Cuomo: That is one of the most disturbing situations I have seen in a long time. That's not about one official, and they better not try to cover this up. That was a police blog that operated for years, with hundreds of police officers posting on it. The most racist, sexist, anti-Semitic comments. I can't believe people still talk like that. "Obama is a Muslim savage." A black DA is a "gap-toothed wildebeest." They called the mayor's son a "brillo-head". I mean it was disgusting. It went on for years with hundreds of cops. This is after George Floyd. This is after Eric Garner. This is an environment where protestors are saying, rightfully so, there's lack of respect for the community from the police. On this blog, it was discovered by the City Council, Councilman Torres. Why would a councilman be the one to blow the whistle on a blog that went on for years with hundreds of cops. Are you telling me that the NYPD didn't know? There should be an independent investigation. A DA can do it, a U.S. attorney can do it, the state can do it. But we have to get to the bottom of this. These are hundreds and hundreds of cops saying terrible things. We can find out who they are. The council discovered one official's identity. There are hundreds more. No cover-up. No cover-up. It's disgusting.

Kristen Shaughnessy: Governor, we appreciate your time, your calls for an independent investigation. Thanks for checking in.

Governor Cuomo: Thank you, Kristen.