Gov. Andrew Cuomo Excited About Infrastructure 'Opportunities' Under Trump

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo met with president-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower on Wednesday, the governor's first face-to-face meeting with Trump since Election Day.

"It was not adversarial," Cuomo told reporters outside Trump Tower after the meeting. (Full video below.)

Cuomo had said the night before the meeting that he knows Trump, who was born in Queens (like the governor) and has lived in New York City his whole life. Cuomo said he thought he could find common ground with Trump on infrastructure spending, and that he hoped he could persuade Trump against a full repeal of Obamacare.

After the meeting, Cuomo confirmed:

"We talked about infrastructure, which is something the president-elect very much wants to concentrate on. We are ready to go in New York — we are ready to build. If he wants to put federal money to use and put federal money to use quickly, this is the state to do it. Many of the big projects that I want to get done involve federal interaction. Improving LaGuardia Airport, that's federal interaction. Improving JFK Airport. The subway system that needs dramatic improvement — that involves the federal government. So basically the conversation was about both the opportunities for the state of New York and the needs of the state of New York."

As for the Affordable Care Act, Cuomo didn't say whether he had convinced Trump of anything. However, he did say the president-elect "understood exactly what I was saying, and the magnitude of what I was saying. I mean, 3 million uninsured people would be a problem."

Cuomo was a vocal supporter of Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign and has positioned himself further to the left since the election on issues such as education and immigration.

He spoke with Trump briefly by phone after the election. But Cuomo said Tuesday he still wanted to talk to Trump about the importance of New Yorkers staying healthy and insured, in case all or part of the Affordable Care Act is repealed.

To that point, Cuomo seemed optimistic Wednesday. "He was knowledgable about the issues of the Affordable Care Act and the different options that were being discussed," the governor said of Trump. "He was knowledgable about the issue of state and local deductibility, which is a big issue. So he's been briefed on the federal side. I wanted to make sure he had the New York state perspective from a budget point of view."

Image via Pat Arnow, Flickr, used under Creative Commons