Cuomo expresses sympathy for victims, criticizes Trump’s Covid-19 response in contentious hearing

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo expressed sympathy for victims of Covid-19 while defending his administration and casting blame toward former President Donald Trump’s pandemic response on Tuesday as he testified publicly before a GOP-led House panel and faced questions over the Covid-era nursing home policy in the state.

Cuomo called the federal response to the pandemic “malpractice” during Trump’s time in office.“From day one, he willfully deceived the American people, denying Covid’s very real threat,” the former governor said of Trump. “His lies and denials delayed our response, let the virus spread and this country never caught up.”

Recalling shortages of necessary medical supplies in the early days of the pandemic, Cuomo said, “It was the Covid hunger games, the federal government was nowhere to be found.”