Cuomo Says His Family Proves America's Greatness

NEW YORK — Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday said his own family was evidence of just how great America truly is as he walked back his controversial comment that the country "was never that great." The Democratic governor told reporters his Wednesday remark that sparked a firestorm of conservative backlash was "inartful" and that "America has always been great."

"My family is evidence of American greatness," Cuomo, the son of former Gov. Mario Cuomo, said on an unrelated conference call. "My grandparents came to this country as poor immigrants and their son became governor and his son became governor. So that’s never been a question."

The governor then launched a tirade against Republican President Donald Trump, whose "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan is at the root of the debate over national greatness.

Calling his fellow Queens native "petty" and "vindictive," Cuomo slammed Trump for "attacking" LGBTQ people and the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling protecting abortion rights. He also decried the president's tax reform bill, which he called "a missile aimed at New York."

"New York, as I say, is the alternative state to Trump’s America, and that is the role that we are going to play, and we’re going to call him out on it time and time again," Cuomo said. "And I will fight him every step of the way because we are not going backwards, we are going forwards."

Cuomo's initial estimation of America's greatness drew fire from conservatives, including the president, as he seeks re-election for a third term leading the Empire State government.

The governor's Friday clarification came after Trump once again attacked his "really dumb statement" on Twitter. "Andrew 'choked' badly, mistake!" he wrote.

"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," Trump tweeted. "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!" (Chris Cuomo hosts a prime-time show on CNN.)

Trump then asked his 53.8 million followers which was worse: Cuomo's comment or Hillary Clinton referring to Trump supporters as "deplorables" in 2016.

"I say Andrew’s was a bigger and more incompetent blunder," Trump tweeted. "He should easily win his race against a Super Liberal Actress, but his political career is over!"

An adviser to that "Super Liberal Actress," Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former "Sex and the City" star Cynthia Nixon, said Cuomo "folded like a cheap suit" after Trump's insults.

"As governor, Cynthia Nixon will stand up to Trump, and stand by her progressive convictions, regardless of what this horrible president or the polls might say," Nixon senior adviser Rebecca Katz said in a statement.

But Cuomo said Trump was just trying to divert attention from the criminal trial of his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault Newman's reported secret recordings of her conversations with Trump allies.

"It doesn’t work in New York, and we’re not going to let him change the topic," Cuomo said. "He has hurt New York badly. Everything he does is repugnant to our values."

(Lead image: Gov. Andrew Cuomo joins a school walkout in New York City in March 2018 to mark one month since the Parkland, Florida school shooting. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)