Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday deflected questions as to whether he’d run for president in 2020 a week after Republican Donald Trump’s upset win over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Characteristically, Cuomo was coy as whether he’d run.
“I’m planning to be the best governor I can for the state of New York,” Cuomo said.
Pressed later during interviews with reporters in Henrietta, Cuomo said he plans to run for a third term as governor in 2018 and that he has longer-term goals he wants to accomplish in New York.
“I’m doing the best job I can as governor. I’m up in two years. I’m planning to run for re-election in two years,” he said. “We have a lot of good stuff going on, it won’t be finished in two years. We’re making a lot of progress, but we have more to do, and I want to finish what I told the people of this state I would do.”
Expects these questions for Cuomo to continue and the non-committal deflections to become rather repetitive as he remains among a handful of Democrats who could plausibly launch a bid for 2020.
In the days after Trump’s victory, Cuomo has asserted himself as a prominent defender of immigrants and minorities in New York, saying the state would be a “refuge” during the Trump administration. A day after Trump was elected, Cuomo suggested he could also work with the new administration on an issue close to him: infrastructure spending.
(Source: NY1)
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One thing (among many) that President Obama did right was to appoint Preet Bharaha as US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He has indicted and convicted a substantial number of New York State legislators, and some other public officials, of both parties, exposing the thoroughly corrupted nature of New York State and City government. One thing President-Elect Trump can do is find a successor for Mr. Bharara (or re-appoint him) who will continue Bharara’s work.
As for Andrew Cuomo in 2020, I think Mr. C is very much tied to the past. The Democratic Party (of which I am a supporter and voter) must find its next generation of leaders, and Mr. Cuomo would be a step in the wrong direction. One thing I wondered throughout the last presidential campaign was why my party could not come up with a candidate less burdened by past mistakes and more clearly committed to the well-being of the middle class. Hillary lacked core beliefs, and that is what made her vulnerable to the quirks of the Electoral College (she did win the popular support) and the clouds over her that she and her husband made for themselves.
Mr. Cuomo’s dubious programs intended to “create jobs” have been expensive and inefficient, and Mr. Bharara is sniffing around Mr. Cuomo’s political intimates. I know of nothing illegal or unethical about Mr. Cuomo, but Mr. Bharara might, and I would like to see Mr. Bharara finish what he started, or be succeeded by someone who will.