Gov. Andrew Cuomo has recently come under fire for his administration’s handling of data on coronavirus-related deaths at nursing homes, and some are even calling for his resignation. 

A top aide to the governor admitted that the administration withheld data because they feared an investigation by former President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice, according to The New York Times. This destroyed the false perception that New York state was handling the pandemic better than it was.   

This would be a problematic situation, regardless of the person, but for someone who has revamped their entire image around their COVID-19 response, this is a damaging hit for Cuomo. And that’s not even mentioning the impact it will have on his upcoming reelection bid in 2022, which he certainly was favored to win. 

I’m sure we can all agree that what Cuomo’s team did was questionable, but I intend, however, to simply propose the idea that Cuomo was actually acting in the best interest of New York’s people.

At the start of the pandemic, we saw a presidential administration in denial and a virus ravaging the country. With each state’s pandemic response handled by its respective governor, vastly different approaches emerged, and largely along party lines. With Trump shouting his support for governors that agreed with his claims, a voice of dissent arose: Cuomo.

Cuomo quickly became a national voice for the use of extensive action to reduce the spread of the virus, but popularity brought unwanted attention. The two quickly devolved into petty back-and-forth statements, with Trump targeting New York state for its high COVID-19 infections rates after Cuomo criticized the former president.

Let’s assume that Cuomo’s team was fully transparent with the nursing home data. Not only did Cuomo’s policies appear to not work, in this case, it actually put more people at risk.

Of course, the data is more complicated than those simple conclusions, but it would not have been hard for Trump to spin the numbers his way. What would have followed could have ranged from more claims to actual investigations. From a president who was blatantly partisan with his support, if Trump had a full picture of the data, he would have subjected New York state to further punishment for Cuomo’s supposed disloyalty, and may have limited the amount of federal aid the state received.

And so, I simply ask you to consider that Cuomo’s actions may have been a little more complicated behind the scenes. What he did was certainly shady, but that’s politics. With a president who could have cared less about unity, Cuomo had to balance taking care of New York’s people and a president looking for a reason to punish him. 

The people of New York deserved to know the real numbers, yes, but let’s imagine the impact of those same numbers coming to light if they incited Trump’s wrath.
William Ducott is a sophomore finance, business analytics and economics major. His column appears biweekly. He can be reached at wtducott@syr.edu.

Published on February 16, 2021 at 8:27 pm