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It marked Cuomo's first open criticism of the Republican president since he tweeted that the Democratic governor's "political career is over!'' as reported here by Daily Voice.
"The President's tweets about Hurricane Maria are a disgusting insult to the families of those who died and to all those who were left behind by the federal government in the wake of the storm," Cuomo said in a press statement.
"The President is telling lies to the world to cover up his abdication of duty to the people of Puerto Rico."
Earlier Thursday, Trump dismissed the hurricane death toll as a hoax created “by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible” while he was raising “billions of dollars” to aid recovery.
“If a person died for any reason, like old age, just add them onto the list,” Trump fumed.
"3000 people did not die in the two hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico. When I left the Island, AFTER the storm had hit, they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths," Trump tweeted. "As time went by it did not go up by much. Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000..."
Cuomo countered: "You can't govern via conspiracy theory. The American people — which, yes Mr. President, includes Puerto Ricans — deserve better."
"While the President abandoned Puerto Rico, New York stepped up. We have stood with our Puerto Rican brothers and sisters from day one and we will walk with them every step of the way down the long path of recovery," Cuomo said.
"President Trump: the American people will not let you rewrite history, and I will see to it that you are held accountable. I'll see you in court," Cuomo said, referring to a lawsuit filed by displaced Puerto Ricans in New York against Trump and the federal government for failing to provide resources and relief after Hurricane Maria.
In mid-August, Cuomo was slammed by Trump as well as Democratic primary challenger Cynthia Nixon after his "America was never great" comment, as reported here by Daily Voice.
Nixon accused Cuomo of "folding like a cheap suit" after Trump tweeted:
"Which is worse, Hightax Andrew Cuomo's statement, 'WE’RE NOT GOING TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, IT WAS NEVER THAT GREAT' or Hillary Clinton’s 'DEPLORABLES' statement."
"I say Andrew’s was a bigger and more incompetent blunder. He should easily win his race against a Super Liberal Actress, but his political career is over!" Trump wrote.
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