Video, Audio & Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo "The COVID Problem in New York Was a Direct Result of the Negligence of the Federal Government"

VIDEO of the Governor's remarks is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.

AUDIO of the Governor's remarks is available here.

A rush transcript of the Governors remarks is available here:

New York is in a different position than almost any other state. Certainly any other state outside of the Northeast. The COVID problem in New York was a direct result of the negligence of the federal government. If this was a private situation, the state could sue the federal government for negligence. Gross negligence. The federal government is responsible for public health and international monitoring of public health.

CDC, Centers for Disease Control, NIH, Department of Homeland Security - their job is to track global pandemics. Like MERS, like SARS, like Swine Flu, like H1N1, like Ebola. That's what they do. State government doesn't do that.

Their responsibility is public health, homeland security, track diseases around the world and make sure you know where they are and make sure you know if they're coming here. That's the federal job. You know what they did? They failed. They failed. You know how you know that? They admitted it. They admitted it. They said China virus. The virus came from China. The virus was in China in December. They don't take action until March.

What did you think was going to happen between December and March? You think the virus was going to sit there in China and wait for you? December, January, February, March. No. I mean it defies common sense. The virus got on a plane and it went to Europe and the federal government, hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. No nothing.

It went to Europe in January, in February and then it got on a plane it came to New York. You know where the European flights come? They come to New York. The come to JFK, they come to Newark and it was coming for weeks and months and they never knew. That's where the explosion came from.

When I say they admit it, go pull the quote from CDC Dr. Redfield, go pull the statement the testimony from Dr. Fauci who say, yes, we thought it was coming from China. It was coming from Europe and everybody was still looking at China. They have admitted that and that's how we had the explosion. Why? Because it had been coming for weeks and months. Due to federal negligence.

Now the other states can't make that argument because once it happened in New York, now they're on notice. It's in America big time. Not just a couple of cases in Seattle, a little bit on the West Coast. Flights from China, from the Wuhan Province. No, it's in New York. It's here. It's here big time. They had notice. We had no notice. We were ambushed because the federal government failed in its job. Failed in its job.

Now, you cost New Yorkers lives and you cost New Yorkers billions of dollars and now to add insult to injury, you want to say you're not going to provide federal funds to help alleviate the damage that you caused? That's going to be the imposition? It's reprehensible.

Let those Congress people produce no federal funds and then come home to New York and run for re-election in November and let's see what happens. Don't provide subsidy to the MTA, let the LIRR service reduce or the fares go up and then let the Congressional people explain it when they go to the people on Long Island and ask for their vote.