Audio & Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo Is a Guest on MSNBC's Morning Joe

Earlier today, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo was a guest on MSNBC's Morning Joe to discuss New York's plan to combat the novel coronavirus crisis.

AUDIO is available here.

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

Joe Scarborough: Let's bring in right now the Governor of New York, Governor Cuomo. Governor, thank you so much for being with us. Let's just throw it open to you and tell us what does New York State need? What does New York City need right now?

Mika Brzezinski: And any new numbers you might have.

Governor Cuomo: Yeah, well, thank you Joe, thank you Mika. Thank you very much for your coverage. It's really great and it's important to get straight information to the people of this country now and you are doing that extraordinarily well. We don't have the numbers from last night yet, we're putting them together, but they're going to be up. The number of deaths, my guess, is going to be over 1,000. You're exactly right that New York is the canary in the coal mine. You're going to see this moving across the country. Anyone who wants to say this is New York alone, that's a political, partisan, divisive view and it's exactly wrong. And I hope the president gets -- I heard your clip about the 4,000 ventilators. What they still don't get is how to run a government, how to plan an operation. This virus has been ahead of us from day one. We've been playing catch up from day one. That we're doing in New York is we know the apex is still two, three, four weeks away depending on whose projection model you use. Prepare for the apex. Have the materials for the apex. That's when the system is going to collapse. So he's right, they sent 4,000 ventilators. I'm not using them today because I don't need them today. I need to assemble them in a stockpile. A stockpile, by definition, is to be used at the high point.

Joe Scarborough: Right. And of course, Governor, we're not speculating when we say you're going to need those ventilators and many more. And, believe me, I live in a state other than New York, so I don't want New York to get all the ventilators. But guess what? You can look at the numbers. You can look at the data and see that you all are going to need more ventilators. You're going to need more equipment. So what plea do you today, what plea do you have for this President and also those around that keep telling this warehouse story over and over again? When they could go to Dr. Fauci and say, "Oh, it's going to get a hell of a lot worse in New York City and New York State over the next couple of weeks. What plea do you have for President Trump?

Governor Cuomo: Joe, my plea is, and pardon me if I'm a little emotional, but I'mliving with this 24 hours a day and I'm seeing people die all around me. The science people, the government professionals have to stand up and look the President in the eye and say this is not a political exercise. This is not press relations. It's not optics. The tsunami is coming. We know it is. Now is the time to gather supplies, do the preparations because it's too late the day before. If you have not done the work before the storm hits, it's too late to do it once the storm hits. And the storm is coming. Stop the politics. Listen to the scientists and the pros and plan because otherwise, Joe, Mika, people will die who don't need to die. That's the bottom line.

Joe Scarborough: And there is, Mika, there's a biblical parallel here that the President's supporters, a lot of evangelicals read this story of Joseph and the Pharaoh. They planned for seven years of famine. Well, that famine, that medical crisis is in New York City right now and it's only going to get worse over the next 7 to 14 days.

Mika Brzezinski: Governor, did you get hope from the President's setting a new timeline and no longer talking about Easter being this big reopening day?

Governor Cuomo: I don't know. Easter was never real. So many things he says that are not real that, frankly, I don't have the luxury of trying to decipher every message, right? I'm living day by day. I see the storm coming. I can see the forecast. I follow projections. I follow science. I follow data. I don't have instinct. I don't have a gut. It's not about emotion. The storm hits, according to McKinsey and Cornell and the Gates Foundation, the storm hits in two weeks, three weeks. This is what I'm going to need if you don't want to see a total collapse, and let's focus on getting that. Everything else is baloney to me. I can't decipher the daily mumblings of the President.

Joe Scarborough: Governor, I lived in upstate New York for five years. I know the state very well. And it's interesting, I still have friends that live in upstate New York that still have a trace of skepticism in their voices. They're big supporters of President Trump and they're still a bit skeptical. I don't know how they'll be this morning after hearing his press conference yesterday and hearing 2.2 million. But do you have the same problem with disconnect with people in upstate New York or do you think even conservatives in upstate New York who support Donald Trump now understand the science is daunting, not just for the city but for them as well?

Governor Cuomo: You know, some people want to hold on to their ideological beliefs and they're going to cling on to their misperceptions as long as possible, but the march of science and data is irrefutable. And the numbers will increase, and the numbers are spreading every day. It's more and more clear and at one point you can't disbelieve the forecaster, and it's going to rain when you're drenched - and people will be drenched, Joe.

Joe Scarborough: Well, Governor, we want to thank you on behalf of people in New York and all across the country for your leadership. I know your constituents are going through hell right now and it's only going to get worse over the next few weeks. But there is good news on the other side.

Mika Brzezinski: Thank you for being an example for the nation. That does it for us this morning.