Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York denounced President Donald Trump, the Trump Administration, the Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company, and others who have been credited for making the COVID-19 vaccines.
Cuomo has been especially vocal about his objection to the COVID-19 vaccine’s approval during President Trump’s term in office. He was quoted as saying that President Trump, Pfizer, and Moderna Biotechnology Company rushed the production of the ground-breaking vaccines in Operation Warp Speed solely for monetary gain and their egos. Cuomo cited, due to this speed, the vaccine will be flawed and will only dispense it once New York medical and logistical experts double-check the Food and Drug Administration’s work. This will, in turn, further delay the availability of the vaccines to New Yorkers.
President Trump gave an update on Operation Warp Speed in the Rose Garden when he addressed Cuomo’s accusations on November 13th, 2020.
“This is a very successful, amazing vaccine… Governor Cuomo, will have to let us know when he’s ready for it. Otherwise, we… can’t be delivering it to a state that won’t be giving it to its people immediately… I know they want it. So the governor will let us know when he’s ready… But we’re ready to provide it as soon as they let us know that they’ll actually use it. And again, it’s a very safe and a great vaccine.”
Immediately following the President’s comments on the issue, multiple legacy news outlets reported that President Trump “threatened” to not send the 90+ percent effective vaccine to New York because of a personal vendetta against Governor Cuomo.
New York Attorney General Letitia James took the misinterpreted meaning behind President Trump’s words and threatened to sue the Trump Administration for “[playing] games with people’s lives”.
“This is nothing more than vindictive behavior by a lame-duck president trying to exact vengeance on those who oppose his politics. Once there is a fully-developed COVID-19 vaccine, we are confident that a Biden-Harris Administration will provide New York with the proper number of doses so that our state’s residents can achieve immunity. If dissemination of the vaccine takes place in the twilight of a Trump Administration and the president wants to play games with people’s lives, we will sue and we will win.”
