Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo took flak on social media for selling a poster that touts New York’s widely criticized response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cuomo on Monday revealed a poster he claimed to have designed that praised what he called “New York Tough,” saying his artwork captures the plight of New Yorkers as they rose above the scourge of the coronavirus.
“I love history. I love poster art. Poster art is something they did in the early 1900s, late 1800s, when they had to communicate their whole platform on one piece of paper,” Cuomo said.
The poster shows essential workers pulling a rope up a mountain, symbolizing the “flattening of the curve” of the virus. On Sunday, New York recorded its first day since March 11 that there were no fatalities in the state.
On top of the poster is a quote from Cuomo, declaring: “Wake up America! Forget the politics, get smart!”
President Trump sits inside a crescent moon on the top right of the poster with the words “It’s Just The Flu” to the right.
State officials — including Cuomo — are shown at the bottom above the words: “New York State Leads Again.” On the left, a gusting wind labeled the “WH Task Force” is blowing “Winds of Fear.”
“Over the past few years I’ve done my own posters that capture that feeling. I did a new one for what we went through with COVID and I think the general shape is familiar to you,” Cuomo said. “We went up the mountain, we curved the mountain, we came down the other side and these are little telltale signs that, to me, represent what was going on.”
Cuomo took to Twitter to hawk his new artwork, which is being sold on the governor’s official state site for $14.50, plus shipping and handling.
“The Sea of Division. The Boyfriend Cliff. The Sun On The Other Side. See it all for yourself. Pre-order the #NewYorkTough poster here,” the Democrat wrote.
The Sea of Division. The Boyfriend Cliff. The Sun On The Other Side. See it all for yourself.
Pre-order the #NewYorkTough poster here:
— Archive: Governor Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) July 14, 2020
It’s unclear where the money from purchased posters will go as the state site says “New York State does not profit from the sale of this poster.”
Many Twitter users lit into Cuomo for the poster.
“He’s actually selling his self-congratulatory poster that’s centered around a visual representation of 32,000 deaths,” Tablet Magazine Associated editor Noah Baumbach wrote. “Was Cuomo always this repugnant or does this much media flattery make anyone lose perspective?”
“Your inaction and infighting with the Mayor caused thousands of deaths,” activist and former Sanders surrogate Shaun King told Cuomo. “Nearly every expert in the nation says had you acted sooner it could’ve saved nearly 10,000 lives. That you think it’s time for posters touting your ‘success’ is troubling.”
Your inaction and infighting with the Mayor caused thousands of deaths.
Nearly every expert in the nation says had you acted sooner it could’ve saved nearly 10,000 lives.
That you think it’s time for posters touting your “success” is troubling.
— Shaun King (@shaunking) July 14, 2020
“I appreciate the sentiment, but the ‘mountain’ is made of 25,000 dead bodies. Please retire this trope. We should have a statewide day of mourning, not a celebration,” wrote John O’Neil, editor on Bloomberg’s QuickTake team.
I appreciate the sentiment, but the "mountain" is made of 25,000 dead bodies. Please retire this trope. We should have a statewide day of mourning, not a celebration.
— John O'Neil (@THAToneil) July 14, 2020
In March, Cuomo enacted a state directive that required nursing homes to take in elderly people, even if they tested positive for COVID-19, which then swept through the most vulnerable population. Amid intense backlash, Cuomo signed an executive order on May 11 to rescind the policy, which banned hospitals from sending infected patients back to nursing homes.
One Twitter user noted that Cuomo had omitted any mention of that topic. “I don’t see Nursing Homes of Death on here. Oversight?”
I don't see Nursing Homes of Death on here.
Oversight?
— M A G N U S (@Magnus2Point0) July 14, 2020