White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki repeatedly refused to state during an interview on Sunday whether President Joe Biden still considers New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) to be the “gold standard” for governors when it comes to responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“So, now we’ve seen that Governor Cuomo has allegedly undercounted nursing home deaths, misled legislators in New York, and he called New York assemblyman in Ron Kim, raising questions, you know, basically threatening to destroy him, I think was his actual words,” ABC News host Jonathan Karl said. “So does President Biden still consider Andrew Cuomo the gold standard when it comes to leadership on the pandemic?”
“Well, Jon, we work with Governor Cuomo, just like we work with governors across the country,” Psaki responded. “He’s also chair of the NGA. So he’s plays an important role in ensuring that we’re coordinating closely and getting assistance out to people of his state and to states across the country.”
“And we’ll continue to do that. And there, of course, will be a process … investigations, we’ll leave that to others to determine, the appropriate law enforcement authorities to determine how that path is going to move as we look forward, but we are going to continue to work with a range of governors, including, of course, Governor Cuomo, because we think the people of New York, the people of states across the country, need assistance, not just to get through the pandemic, but to get through this difficult economic time,” she added. “And that’s that’s where our focus remains.”
“Alright, but Jen, my question was, does President Biden still believe that Andrew Cuomo is the gold standard, represents the gold standard, on leadership during this pandemic?” Karl pressed. “Just a yes or no.”
“Well, Jon, the president, the president, well, it doesn’t always have to be a yes or no answer, Jon,” she responded. “I think the president is focused on his goal, his objectives as president of the United States. He’s going to continue to work with Governor Cuomo, just like he’ll continue to work with governors across the country. And I’m not here to give new labels or names from the president, I’m here to communicate with you about what our focuses are and what his objectives are as president.”
WATCH:
Biden's Press Secretary refuses to condemn Gov. Cuomo's cover-up of the number of nursing home deaths.
Cuomo covered up data in the face of a DOJ investigation and then threatened Dem lawmakers. How is that not a "yes or no question" for the Biden admin?pic.twitter.com/kVlH9CyhdU
— Tommy Pigott (@TCPigott) February 21, 2021
TRANSCRIPT:
JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS HOST: Okay, I want to turn to another controversy that raged this week. Andrew Cuomo under fire for allegedly not being transparent and misleading on the number of nursing home deaths in New York. Last Spring, President Biden cited Andrew Cuomo is ‘the gold standard’ for leadership during the pandemic. Take a listen.
[START VIDEO]
JOE BIDEN, THEN-CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT: Your governor in New York’s done one hell of a job. I think he’s sort of the gold standard.
[END VIDEO]
KARL: So now we’ve seen that Governor Cuomo has allegedly undercounted nursing home deaths, misled legislators in New York, and he called New York assemblyman in Ron Kim, raising questions, you know, basically threatening to destroy him, I think was his actual words. So does President Biden still consider Andrew Cuomo the gold standard when it comes to leadership on the pandemic?
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, Jon, we work with Governor Cuomo, just like we work with governors across the country. He’s also chair of the NGA. So he’s plays an important role in ensuring that we’re coordinating closely and getting assistance out to people of his state and to states across the country. And we’ll continue to do that. And there, of course, will be a process … investigations, we’ll leave that to others to determine, the appropriate law enforcement authorities to determine how that path is going to move as we look forward, but we are going to continue to work with a range of governors, including, of course, Governor Cuomo, because we think the people of New York, the people of states across the country, need assistance, not just to get through the pandemic, but to get through this difficult economic time. And that’s that’s where our focus remains.
KARL: All right. But Jen, my question was, does President Biden still believe that Andrew Cuomo is the gold standard, represents the gold standard, on leadership during this pandemic? Just a yes or no.
PASKI: Well, Jon, the president, the president, well, it doesn’t always have to be a yes or no answer, Jon.