15 June 2021: Cuomo Ignores COVID Deaths While Celebrating Lifting Lockdown

Cuomo has COVID’s over rally — without mention of 50K-plus who died on his watch

Governor Cuomo continues his tone-deaf distraction campaign:

Gov. Andrew Cuomo used a campaign-style rally that included a stage announcer and handing out plaques to union leaders to announce the lifting of New York’s coronavirus restrictions Tuesday — while conspicuously making no mention of the state’s estimated 50,000-plus deaths from the disease on his watch.

Cuomo’s victory-style speech — delivered in a loud and exuberant manner — glossed over the personal devastation wrought by the pandemic, even as he compared it to the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

And while the three-term Democrat never urged New Yorkers to remember those killed by COVID-19 — including about 15,000 nursing home residents, some of who may have died because of an administration directive — he choked up while noting that Tuesday was also the birthday of his late father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, who died of heart failure at age 82 in 2016.

The reactions to Cuomo's announcement by his critics were harsh:

Cuomo’s performance struck a sour note with Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Queens), a fierce critic whose uncle died in a nursing home after suffering symptoms of COVID-19.

“I think many of us warned that if we don’t remove him from his position of power that he would milk every ounce of policy for his own gain — and we’re seeing that in real-time,” Kim said midway through Cuomo’s speech.

“It’s what we’ve seen over the past couple weeks, him traveling around the state using public resources to promote his image and his brand.”...

Kim also noted that the labor leaders who appeared with Cuomo “don’t have a choice, because if they don’t show up, it might impact their members and the governor might do something.”

Vivian Rivera-Zayas, who is the plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking to pierce Governor Cuomo's gift of legal immunity for COVID deaths at her mother's nursing home, picked up on his attempt to connect the pandemic to the September 11 terrorist attacks:

“We need a 9/11 commission to find the truth about what happened in nursing homes,” she said.

Somehow, Governor Cuomo and his PR team thought today's attempt at declaring victory against COVID was a good idea.