Meghan McCain Lets Out Her True Feelings About Andrew Cuomo
Meghan McCain has strong words about Gov. Andrew Cuomo and they're not exactly positive. On Friday, Feb. 12, McCain tweeted a link to a New York Post article titled "Cuomo aide admits they hid nursing home data so feds wouldn't find out."
"CUOMO IS A GHOUL!!!" McCain wrote in her post. "HOW IS THIS NOT ILLEGAL?!?"
First things first: Let's talk about the story itself, because regardless of your political views, the headline definitely sounds like Cuomo's office engaged in some seriously unethical and deplorable practices. According to the Post report, Melissa DeRosa, a top Cuomo aide, spoke with Democratic leaders and apologized that the office "froze out" New York's nursing home death toll in an effort to avoid then-President Donald Trump's wrath and the possibility of a federal investigation.
"He starts tweeting that we killed everyone in nursing homes," DeRosa reportedly told lawmakers. "He starts going after [New Jersey Gov. Phil] Murphy, starts going after [California Gov. Gavin] Newsom, starts going after [Michigan Gov.] Gretchen Whitmer... And basically, we froze."
Other outlets have also reported on Cuomo's mishandling of the death toll
Meghan McCain is The View's proud resident conservative and the New York Post is known for being right-leaning (via AllSides), but the story has already been picked up by center and left-leaning outlets including CNN, The New York Times, The Guardian, and CBS News, among others — and Democratic lawmakers have also spoken out against Cuomo. According to the Times, Andrew Cuomo and top aides deliberately and knowingly misreported the death toll in an effort to avoid a potential federal investigation into the state's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Both Republicans and Democrats have condemned Cuomo's actions and some have called for the governor's resignation. In a joint statement released by New York's 14 Democratic state senators, they advocated for repealing Cuomo's emergency executive powers. "While Covid-19 has tested the limits of our people and state ... it is clear that the expanded emergency powers granted to the governor are no longer appropriate," the statement read (via The Guardian).
New York's state senate majority leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins also released her own separate statement condemning Cuomo. "Crucial information should never be withheld from entities that are empowered to pursue oversight," she said. "Politics should not be part of this tragic pandemic and our responses to it must be led by policy, not politics" (via WNYT). It's unclear if, as McCain asked, any laws were broken — but this news certainly calls for an extensive investigation of Gov. Cuomo's entire handling of every aspect of the pandemic.