Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

New York governor calls coronavirus the ‘European virus’

Governor Andrew Cuomo’s remark appeared to be a dig at President Donald Trump who has insisted on calling the pandemic the ‘China virus’.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo dubbed the new coronavirus the “European virus” during a video message to the Democratic National Convention.

“Our current federal government is dysfunctional and incompetent. It couldn't fight off the virus, in fact it didn't even see it coming. The European virus infected the north-east while the White House was still fixated on China,” Cuomo said on Monday.

Cuomo was one of the first Democratic luminaries to speak at a convention that the pandemic has effectively forced online to keep thousands of party faithful from gathering and spreading the virus.

His remark appeared to be a dig at President Donald Trump who had repeatedly insisted on calling the pandemic the “China virus”, though his opponents often accuse the president of verbalising racist overtones by insisting on the term.

The virus was first detected in Wuhan, China, though some studies have said the New York outbreak may have come from European travellers who did not know they were infected.

Trump last week again referred to the “China virus” in an interview with the New York Post, where he discussed plans for his acceptance speech for the presidential nomination.

“I’ll probably be giving my speech at the White House because it is a great place. It’s a place that makes me feel good, it makes the country feel good,” the Post quoted Trump as saying in an interview.

“We’d do it possibly outside on one of the lawns, we have various lawns, so we could have it outside in terms of the China virus,” Trump said.

Cuomo, 62, a potential presidential contender in 2024 or 2028, said the Trump administration remained unprepared to overcome a pandemic that slammed into New York City five months ago.

“This is a man-made threat by our own negligence,” he said. “We now see the virus ricocheting across the country from one state to another. Today we trail the world in defeating Covid. We have over 5 million cases.”

More than 170,000 people in the US have died from Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University.

With more than 32,000 deaths, New York remains the hardest-hit state. But Cuomo’s strict lockdown and methodical reopening have turned it into a model for recovery with a low level of contagion this summer even as the virus continues to ravage Florida, Texas and other parts of the country that rushed to reopen.

When New York was the pandemic’s epicentre in April, Cuomo’s daily briefings became must-watch TV nationwide as he sought to help Americans absorb the enormity of the crisis.

His command of the health data and empathy with the suffering of New Yorkers contrasted with Trump’s disregard for scientific expertise, refusal to call for nationwide sacrifice and reluctance to recognise the pain of those who have lost loved ones.

Cuomo’s popularity soared as Trump’s dropped.

Cuomo suggested Covid-19 was a symptom of a sharply divided nation in crisis. He cited anti-Semitism, “anti-immigrant fervour” and the racism on display in the violent 2017 demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia, “where the KKK didn’t even bother to wear their hoods”.

Donald Trump didn’t create the initial division,” Cuomo said. “The division created Trump. He only made it worse.”

He described Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as “a leader who appeals to the best within us, not the worst, a leader who can unify, not divide, a leader who can bring us up, not tear us down”.

Steve Guest, the rapid response director at the Republican National Committee, said Biden’s record of responding to pandemics when he was vice-president was “dismal”.

“Andrew Cuomo’s appearance at Joe Biden’s convention is a stark reminder of the Democrats’ failed responses to pandemics,” he said, citing the H1N1 pandemic of 2009 and 2010.

In that outbreak, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12,469 people died in the US. In the Ebola outbreak of 2014, the agency said, one person in the US died.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
×