Cuomo pushes tunnel funding, says he's not running for president
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, in a radio interview Tuesday, said he is “ruling” out a run for president in 2020.
That said, the governor also went on to describe the ideal Democratic candidate as someone who has the “experience and credibility” to get things done politically, which is how his backers sometimes describe him.
In the interview on WNYC, the New York City public radio station, the governor also noted he is set to meet with President Donald Trump on Wednesday to urge the Republican to reverse his position and approve funding of the new Gateway Tunnel rail connection between New York and New Jersey
Cuomo, who was re-elected to a third term three weeks ago, was pressed about his ambitions days after an Associated Press story named him as one of many potential contenders whose supporters have been in contact with influential Democrats in Iowa, home of the first 2020 presidential caucus.
“I am ruling it out,” Cuomo told host Brian Lehrer. “I ran for governor. I have a full plate. I have many projects … I am governor of New York and I have a lot to do.”
Cuomo made the statement after outlining what he believes the Democrats need in a candidate and Lehrer saying the profile sounded like the governor himself.
Cuomo, in an argument he's made before, said the party lost the 2016 election because it lost touch with the working class and spent too much time on rhetoric, not results.
“It’s not going to be enough to be anti-Trump,” Cuomo said. “We need a candidate who brings the experience and credibility to the job … You need a positive Democrat, not message, but program that can improve people’s lives.”
The governor said he was going to Washington on Wednesday to once again press Trump and his transportation secretary, Elaine Chao, to fund the Gateway Tunnel project.
New York, New Jersey and the federal government were supposed to divide the costs, as per an agreement with the Obama administration. But Trump reneged on the federal government’s $11 billion share earlier this year.
“This is a federally owned tunnel” that is critical not only to New York and New Jersey, Cuomo said, but the entire Northeast rail corridor. He said funding approval is needed quickly because “even if you started today,” it would take “seven years” to get it built because of the lengthy bidding and environmental review process.
The governor said of the current rail tunnels: "They're 100 years old. They are structurally damaged and it's only a matter of time before they become unusable." Cuomo made a similar pitch earlier this year.
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