New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is in full damage-control mode… after comments he made yesterday about how America “was never that great.”
Yesterday, Cuomo sought to draw a contrast between him and President Donald Trump–who famously promised to “Make America Great Again” during the 2016 election.”
“We’re not gonna make America great again,” Cuomo said, during an event where he was signing an anti-sex trafficking bill into law. “It was never that great.”
“We will reach greatness when discrimination and stereotyping against women, 51 percent of our population, is gone,” he added. “And every woman’s full potential is realized and unleashed and every woman is making her full contribution. When that happens, this nation is going to be taken even higher.”
But after huge backlash–where his Republican opponent called on him to “apologize” for the shocking comment–Cuomo’s office quickly walked back the statement.
“The Governor believes America is great and that her full greatness will be fully realized when every man, woman, and child has full equality,” said Cuomo’s spokeswoman Dani Lever, in a statement. “America has not yet reached its maximum potential.”
“When the President speaks about making America great again – going back in time – he ignores the pain so many endured and that we suffered from slavery, discrimination, segregation, sexism and marginalized women’s contributions,” Lever added. “The Governor believes that when everyone is fully included and everyone is contributing to their maximum potential, that is when America will achieve maximum greatness.”