New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) condemned Donald Trump on Wednesday for praising Democrat Andrew Cuomo’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic to slam Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).
What did Trump say?
Last week, Trump claimed Cuomo, as governor of New York, “did better” at handling the pandemic than DeSantis.
The attack, of course, is revisionist history. Not only did DeSantis institute lockdown measures at a later date than most other states, he completely ended pandemic-related restrictions earlier than most states. He was sharply criticized at the time for not taking a heavy-handed approach.
On the other hand, Cuomo instituted strict control measures for long durations, including the nursing home scandal.
What did Sununu say?
Speaking on Fox News Radio, the New Hampshire governor, a moderate Republican, explained the significance of Trump’s attack.
“It’s bull***t,” he said. “That alone should tell you what you’re getting with Donald Trump. … [He] is siding with, of all people, Andrew Cuomo, for this bizarre political attempt to discredit Gov. DeSantis.”
Republicans, then, must seriously consider the implications of supporting a candidate who boosts Democrats because Trump’s attack against DeSantis is “simply nonsense,” according to Sununu.
“It’s really a discredit and a disservice to all the other red states that really handled this the right way,” he said.
“And it says a lot about Donald Trump. That’s what folks have to take home: Donald Trump is not about the Republican Party. He’s not about a strong ticket. He’s not about that ‘R’ — he’s about the ‘D’ in Donald. That’s what comes first with him. And now he’s put Andrew Cuomo over other Republican interests. That’s telling. That’s absolutely telling to me.”
What did DeSantis say?
DeSantis called Trump’s attack “very bizarre,” defended himself, and even went on the offensive.
“First of all, Florida had less excess mortality than California or New York,” DeSantis said last week. “Part of that is because states like California had excess mortality derived from the lockdown policy, which is really, really avoidable mortality.
“But if he thinks Cuomo handled it better, that’s an indication if something like this were to happen again, he would double down and do what he did in March of 2020,” he added.
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