Don't Fall for Cuomo's Gaslighting on Coronavirus

: By David Harsanyi; Published: 17 July 2020

Attention readers: Neil Patel is off this week. Please enjoy the following column by David Harsanyi.

On March 25, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made one of deadliest mistakes of the coronavirus crisis, signing an executive order forcing nursing homes in his state to accept patients who tested positive for coronavirus. Around 4,800 New Yorkers died from COVID-19 in those nursing homes from March to May -- approximately 25% of all fatalities in the state.

Many medical professionals opposed the policy. A report by ProPublica, certainly no right-wing outlet, found that deaths had spiked after Cuomo's order. States issuing similar policies -- Michigan and New Jersey -- saw similar disasters unfold.

By any standard, the New York tri-state area's numbers are the worst in the country. By most measures, the numbers are some of the worst in the world. As the New York Times noted in May, New York City seeded the wave of outbreaks across the nation. Some of the carnage was likely unavoidable, but we can attribute the high number of nursing home deaths, at the very least, to Cuomo's ineptitude.

Yet, even as his state was failing to meet its most serious challenge since 9/11 -- it wasn't until May 6 that cleaners began disinfecting the subway system, for example -- Cuomo was busy taking softball questions on national cable news from his obsequious brother, Chris. On "The Tonight Show," Jimmy Fallon marveled at how "smart" and "honest" Cuomo was as the two discussed the governor's global popularity and "Cuomosexual fans."

For those who tell you the media don't matter, Cuomo now has among the highest approval ratings of any governor in the nation, almost all of whom have governed far more capably. As I write this, the coronavirus death toll in New York stands at 166 people per 100,000 (even if we exclude New York City, the rate is 78.5 per 100,000), while it is still only 30 per in Arizona, 20 per in Florida, 17.7 in California and 11.1 in Texas. Will Florida Governor Ron DeSantis be heralded as a great governor should his state end up with a fraction of the deaths New York experienced? Unlikely.

If all of that wasn't bad enough, after more than 32,000 deaths, Cuomo and his fans are now celebrating a victory over coronavirus.

Cuomo released a bizarre poster this week, praising New York's allegedly successful pandemic response under the banner of "Love Wins." Within the poster's pyramid of mythical accomplishments, there is a quote from A. J. Parkinson -- an imaginary philosopher invented by Cuomo's father, Mario. It says, "Tell the People the Truth and They Will Do the Right Thing," which is highly misleading since the bottom of the pyramid isn't built upon the bodies of 30,000 dead.

Nevertheless, there was Andy Slavitt, the perpetually mistaken Obama-era bureaucrat who is constantly being trotted out by cable news as an expert on coronavirus, there was no other place that beat the disease like New York. Others claimed that New York's victory could be seen in its lack of deaths this week. This is tantamount to declaring New York victorious over Islamic terrorism on 9/12 because no one died in the city that day. To paraphrase Pyrrhus, another such victory over COVID and we are undone.

While some states struggle more than others, and coronavirus is still spreading, only one state demonstrably failed to accomplish its most basic mission. You will remember the importance of "flattening the curve" to ensure that we didn't overwhelm hospitals with new cases. (The fantastical notion that we could escape without widespread infections was not yet normalized.)

We don't know what the future holds, and, obviously, there are likely to be spikes as we move forward with reopening. But there is no measurement at our disposal and no level of gaslighting that will change the fact that Cuomo-led New York was an utter failure.

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David Harsanyi is a senior writer at National Review and the author of the book "First Freedom: A Ride Through America's Enduring History With the Gun." To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

Tucker Carlson currently hosts Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” (weekdays 8 p.m. ET). He joined the network in 2009 as a contributor.

“Tucker Carlson Tonight” features powerful analysis and spirited debates, with guests from across the political and cultural spectrum. Carlson brings his signature style to tackle issues largely uncovered by the media in every corner of the United States, challenging political correctness with a "Campus Craziness" segment and tackling media bias and outrage during "Twitter Storm."

Carlson co-hosted “Fox & Friends Weekend” starting in 2012, until taking on his current role at “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”

While at Fox News, Carlson has provided analysis for “America's Election Headquarters” on primary and caucus nights, including in the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, as well as the 2014 midterm election. He also produced a Fox News special, "Fighting for Our Children's Minds," in 2010.

Prior to working at Fox News, Carlson hosted “Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered” on PBS from 2004 to 2005 and “Tucker” on MSNBC from 2005 to 2008. He joined CNN in 2000 as its youngest anchor ever, co-hosting “The Spin Room” and later CNN's “Crossfire,” until its 2005 cancellation. In 2003, he wrote an autobiography about his cable news experience titled "Politicians, Partisans and Parasites: My Adventures in Cable News."

Carlson graduated with a B.A. in history from Trinity College in Connecticut.

Neil Patel

In addition to his role as publisher of The Daily Caller, Neil Patel is co-founder and managing director of Bluebird Asset Management, a hedge fund investing in mortgage-backed securities.

Before starting his two companies, Neil served in the White House from 2005 to 2009 as the chief policy adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney. From 2001 to 2004, Neil was staff secretary to Vice President Cheney. Prior to joining the Bush administration, Neil was assistant general counsel at UUNET Technologies. Earlier in his career, Neil practiced law with Dechert Price & Rhoads. He also served as Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People’s Republic of China.

Neil received his B.A. from Trinity College in Connecticut and his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as associate editor of the Journal of Law and Policy in International Business.

Neil lives in Washington, D.C., and Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with his wife, Amy, their two daughters, Caroline and Bela, and their son, Charlie.