White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Sunday evaded questions about whether President Biden still believes Governor Andrew Cuomo is the ‘gold standard’ for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic amid his scandal over deaths in nursing homes in New York.
The president described Cuomo last year as a kind of gold standard when the governor was praised for his daily television briefings on how the state is dealing with COVID-19.
ABC Karl’s “This Week” presenter Jon Karl asked Psaki if Biden still held that view.
“We are working with Governor Cuomo, just as we are working with governors across the country,” Psaki said, not answering the question but pointing out that Cuomo is the chairman of the National Governors Association.
“He plays an important role in ensuring that we coordinate closely in providing assistance to people in his state and to countries across the country, and we will continue to do so.”
“And there will of course be a process. There are investigations. We will leave it to others to determine – the appropriate law enforcement agencies to determine how the road will move as we look ahead, ”said Psaki.
The FBI and the U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn are investigating the Cuomo administration amid revelations that they detained the total number of nursing home residents who died of coronavirus because they feared the Trump administration would retaliate politically.
Karl continued to press Psaki to see if Biden still had the same view of Cuomo.
“Well, it doesn’t always have to be a yes or no answer, Jon. I think the president is focused on his goals, his goals as president of the United States. “He will continue to work with Governor Cuomo, just as he will continue to work with governors across the country,” she said, continuing to elude him.
‘And I’m not here to give new labels or names of the president. I’m here to communicate with you about what we focus on and what his goals as president are. ”