New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s disparaging comment about the United States sparked a firestorm on Aug. 15, drawing criticism from all across the political spectrum, led by President Donald Trump.
Cuomo, who is a frequent and vocal critic of the president, had taken a jab at Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan at a bill-signing event in Manhattan.
“We’re not going to ’make America great again,'” Cuomo, who is a Democrat, said at the event. “It was never that great. We have not reached greatness. We will reach greatness when every American is fully engaged.”
“What you say would be ‘great again’ would not be great at all. ... We will not go back to discrimination, segregation, sexism, isolationism, racism or the KKK,” Cuomo wrote on Twitter. “Like NY’s motto says: Excelsior — Ever Upward (not backward).”
The governor’s press secretary, Dani Lever, clarified Cuomo’s comments, adding that Cuomo doesn’t agree with the president.“The governor believes America is great and that her full greatness will be fully realized when every man, woman, and child has full equality,” Lever said in a statement. “America has not yet reached its maximum potential.”
Rebuke
“America, with its imperfections, has always been great,” Marcus Molinaro, a GOP gubernatorial candidate, responded in a statement. “Our people, our principles, and our promises have been a beacon light to the world for 242 years and counting.”Molinaro continued by calling for the governor to apologize, adding that he should be “ashamed of himself.”