White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki suggested on Thursday that President Joe Biden was not really interested in taking back comments that he made last April when he called New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo the “gold standard” when it came to responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Psaki also addressed sexual misconduct allegations made against Cuomo, saying that women who make allegations should be heard and have their allegations reviewed.
“Does President Biden still think Andrew Cuomo is ‘the gold standard’ for COVID leadership and that he’s doing a hell of a job?” Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked.
“Well, first of all, I think to be fair, let’s put all of the comments in context, which sometimes is missing from these conversations we have in here or during interviews,” she claimed. “At the time, which was, I believe, April of last year, the President spoke out and said positive things about a range of governors, Democrats, and Republicans, who are stepping in when there was a vacuum of leadership at the federal level when they were getting no information when they were getting no help and no guidance from the former Trump administration. He made some positive comments about Governor Cuomo and his role in New York at the time as he did about a range of governors.”
WATCH:
Fox's Peter Doocy grills Jen Psaki on sexual harassment allegations raised by Lindsey Boylan against NY Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, noting Biden is meeting later today w/the National Governors Association (which is chaired by Cuomo). Psaki says she deserves to be heard (1/2) pic.twitter.com/E0TEtceAjh
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 25, 2021
TRANSCRIPT:
PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS REPORTER: The head of the group the president is going to meet with today, the National Governor’s Association, Andrew Cuomo, is being accused of sexual harassment by a former staffer Lindsey Boylan, she says that Cuomo, while he was governor, gave her an unwanted kiss on the lips, he asked her to play strip poker. Is the White House worried about this becoming a distraction from an important meeting about COVID response?
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESPERSON: Well, let me first say, that the president has been consistent in his position, when a person comes forward, they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Their voice should be heard, not silenced, and any allegation should be reviewed. Governor Cuomo is also the governor of one of the largest state’s in the country that has been one of the hardest hit with millions of people still suffering from an ongoing pandemic and an economic crisis and our focus is to continue working with governors from across the country, from a range of states, on how we’re helping people in their states. He also is still head of the National Governor’s Association, hence he’s at the event today.
DOOCY: And, to him being in charge of the governors and in charge of such a big state, will the president talk to him about these accusations from Democrats in the New York legislature that Cuomo misled the public about deaths in nursing homes during the pandemic?
PSAKI: Well, this is a meeting and a conversation with a range of governors about how we can all work together to address the pandemic and get relief to the American people. And that’s what I expect the focus of the meeting to be on.
DOOCY: There are some Democrats in New York who want a want congressional hearings about these deaths in nursing homes. There was a Cuomo aid, who told lawmakers in February that the Cuomo administration withheld the number of residents who died in hospitals from the public due to the fear that it would be used against them by federal prosecutors. Is this something the White House thinks would be appropriate for a congressional hearing?
PSAKI: It’s really up to Congress to determine how they want to review or have hearings on those reports.
DOOCY: And I know you’re asked about this, this weekend, but I’ll try again. Does President Biden still think Andrew Cuomo is ‘the gold standard’ for COVID leadership and that he’s doing a hell of a job? Which he has said about him.
PSAKI: Well, first of all, I think to be fair, let’s put all of the comments in context, which sometimes is missing from these conversations we have in here or during interviews. At the time, which was, I believe, April of last year, the President spoke out and said positive things about a range of governors, Democrats and Republicans, who are stepping in when there was a vacuum of leadership at the federal level when they were getting no information when they were getting no help and no guidance from the former Trump administration. He made some positive comments about Governor Cuomo and his role in New York at the time as he did about a range of governors.