New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) walked back his remarks Friday that “America was never that great.” He admitted Friday that his phrasing was “inartful.”
"The expression I used the other day was inartful, so I want to be very clear," Cuomo told reporters on a press call. "Of course America is great and of course America has always been great. No one questions that."
"As you know, my family is evidence of American greatness,” he added. “My grandparents came to this country as poor immigrants and their son became governor and his son became governor. That's never been a question."
However, during a bill signing ceremony Wednesday where he made the controversial comment, Cuomo seemed to be saying quite the opposite.
"We’re not gonna make America great again," Cuomo said at the time. "It was never that great."
"We have not reached greatness," he emphasized. "We will reach greatness when every American is fully engaged."
Cuomo’s remarks come after President Trump criticized his comment in a series of tweets early Friday morning wondering how Cuomo could “survive” as a politician after such a statement about America.
Wow! Big pushback on Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York for his really dumb statement about America’s lack of greatness. I have already MADE America Great Again, just look at the markets, jobs, military- setting records, and we will do even better. Andrew “choked” badly, mistake!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2018
When a politician admits that “We’re not going to make America great again,” there doesn’t seem to be much reason to ever vote for him. This could be a career threatening statement by Andrew Cuomo, with many wanting him to resign-he will get higher ratings than his brother Chris!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2018
How does a politician, Cuomo, known for pushing people and businesses out of his state, not to mention having the highest taxes in the U.S., survive making the statement, WE’RE NOT GOING TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, IT WAS NEVER THAT GREAT? Which section of the sentence is worse?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2018