CNN anchor Jake Tapper slammed New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday for "crowing" about the success of the coronavirus fight in his state despite New York having the highest death rate and the state's numerous missteps made along the way.
Tapper began his criticism on Twitter in a series of tweets:
"NY state has lost more than 32,000 lives to COVID-19. So while it's great that the numbers have gone down, it's perplexing to see crowing, Cuomo going on Fallon, etc. No other state has lost as many lives, not even close. New Jersey is next with 17,000+.
"Yes, this has been a major challenge for every leader, but New York's leaders do not have a success story to tell. It's been about missteps and late actions.
"It's great that the numbers have gone down, and I hope to God they stay there. But New York's leaders were late and made many mistakes; it's been an absolute tragedy."
More than 400,000 people have been infected with COVID-19 in New York and at least 30,000 have died. The state is currently testing about 60,000 per day.
New York averaged about 10 virus-related deaths a day in July, a huge drop from the 799 deaths over a 24-hour period at the peak of the outbreak in April. About 790 people are hospitalized now, down from nearly 19,000 people a few months ago.
Tapper also laid into Cuomo on his show "The Lead with Jake Tapper."
"The Governor Andrew Cuomo seems to be on something of a victory tour congratulating the state and himself for defeating the virus, even selling this poster which shows his state getting over the mountain by bringing down the curve, during the '111 days of hell,' as the governor put it," he said.
"The poster includes references to his daughters and a boyfriend, little inside jokes," Tapper continued. "There are no illustrations, however, of the more than 32,000 dead New Yorkers, the highest death toll by far, of any state.
"No rendering on that poster of criticism that Governor Cuomo ignored warnings, no depiction of the study that he could have saved thousands of lives had he and Mayor [Bill] de Blasio acted sooner," Tapper said. "No painting on that poster of his since-rescinded order that nursing homes take all infected patients in."
Cuomo's brother, Chris Cuomo, is also a CNN host who has been criticized for giving the governor softball interviews.
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