Empire State Today

When Gov. Andrew Cuomo traveled to Georgia to instruct local officials on how to handle the COVID-19 pandemic, critics called it a publicity stunt.

“Cuomo is acting like a conquering hero,” Steve McLaughlin, a Rensselaer County executive, said to the New York Post. “New York leads the nation in cases and deaths. He refused to act early and failed to contain the coronavirus. His policies contributed to more deaths in nursing homes.”

Cuomo visited Georgia as the numbers for COVID-19 in New York were dropping and they were rising in Georgia. 

McLaughlin said the trip was unbelievable.

“He’s definitely trying to rehab his image,” McLaughlin told the New York Post.

Cuomo said he wasn’t traveling to Georgia as a publicity stunt.

“I feel compelled to go because I know a little bit about this,” Cuomo said. “It’s not me who’s going: It’s the people of New York that’s helping the people of Savannah and Houston … We’re in a position to help. We have knowledge.”

Cuomo said he wanted to share what New York learned to help Georgia.

Cuomo’s aide, Rich Azzopardi, said that New York was hit hardest.

“Give me a break, even the CDC said New York was hit the hardest because the Trump administration moved too slow to ground European air travel.” Azzopardi told the New York Post. “What we did do is put into place a successful fact- and number-based reopening that has been praised by Dr. Fauci and this anti-science ... Trump has been trying to undermine every step of the way.”

Under his own rules, Cuomo was supposed to quarantine after the trip, however, he specifically said he would not quarantine. Cuomo said he considers himself an essential employee and cannot quarantine. He did say that he would get tested upon returning.