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ALBANY — At a fund-raiser celebrating his 59th birthday Tuesday night, Gov. Cuomo said Donald Trump did not win the presidential election, the Democrats lost it by ignoring the middle class.
"There is a lesson in what happened in the election," he told his donors who filled the Longacre Theatre for a private showing of "A Bronx Tale The New Musical.” "I believe when you get knocked on your tuches you should at least learn the lesson of what happened so you don't do it again," Cuomo said.
Though the fund-raiser was for Cuomo's 2018 reelection campaign, the governor sounded more like a man considering a potential presidential run in 2020, saying that the Democrats were not able to connect with the middle class anger.
"I don't believe that Trump won," he said. "I believe we lost that election. And I think what it said to the Democrats is there is a middle class that we have not been attentive to and it's a middle class that's been suffering for a long time."
Cuomo named policy chair at Democratic Governors Association
Cuomo also spoke of a divisiveness that has continued after the campaign.
"It spread an anger and a fear and a hatred that is now resonating all across this country," he said. "We have racial incidents all across this country. We have racial incidents all across this state."
He mentioned the Muslim MTA worker who was pushed down the stairs.
"This is a situation that we have never ever seen before and it's frightening," Cuomo said. "And it shouldn't be dismissed and it's not going to go away on its own. In many ways it's a product we have produced."
Cuomo will focus on reelection, but doesn't rule out prez run
He implored New Yorkers to stand up against the negativity by adding a twist to Trump's campaign slogan of making America great again.
Cuomo said Trump didn't win the election. Instead, Democrats lost the race.
(TY WRIGHT/GETTY IMAGES)
"If you want to make America strong again, then remember what made America strong in the first place — it's tolerance. It's brotherhood. It's acceptance. It's community. That is the way forward," he said.
The $75 to $50,000 per person fund-raiser was hosted by Robert De Niro, Tommy Mottola, Chazz Palminteri, and Jane Rosenthal.
Palminteri and De Niro introduced Cuomo, though Palminteri kept referring to the governor's last name as "Como."
Serious opponent could beat Mayor de Blasio in next election
De Niro, taking a dig at Trump's victory, noted that Cuomo in 2014 got more than half a million more votes than his closest competitor "and amazingly he still won. What a concept, the one with the most votes wins."
A Siena Research Institute poll released Monday showed that voters by a 47% to 44% margin said they would vote to re-elect Cuomo if he runs for reelection in 2018 as he has said he would.
But New Yorkers are less enthused about the prospect of Cuomo running for President, with 49% saying he should not do it while 44% said he should consider it. But 55% of New York Democrats say he should consider a presidential run, the poll found.
Cuomo, who has been dogged by the recent indictments of a former top aide and seven other associates in a federal corruption scandal that has rocked his administration, has often deflected questions about his national ambitions by saying he is focused on his job as governor and his plans to seek a third term in 2018.
Cuomo: Trump won election because Dems ignored middle class
It begins
"There is a lesson in what happened in the election," he told his donors who filled the Longacre Theatre for a private showing of "A Bronx Tale The New Musical.” "I believe when you get knocked on your tuches you should at least learn the lesson of what happened so you don't do it again," Cuomo said.
Though the fund-raiser was for Cuomo's 2018 reelection campaign, the governor sounded more like a man considering a potential presidential run in 2020, saying that the Democrats were not able to connect with the middle class anger.
"I don't believe that Trump won," he said. "I believe we lost that election. And I think what it said to the Democrats is there is a middle class that we have not been attentive to and it's a middle class that's been suffering for a long time."
Cuomo named policy chair at Democratic Governors Association
Cuomo also spoke of a divisiveness that has continued after the campaign.
"It spread an anger and a fear and a hatred that is now resonating all across this country," he said. "We have racial incidents all across this country. We have racial incidents all across this state."
He mentioned the Muslim MTA worker who was pushed down the stairs.
"This is a situation that we have never ever seen before and it's frightening," Cuomo said. "And it shouldn't be dismissed and it's not going to go away on its own. In many ways it's a product we have produced."
Cuomo will focus on reelection, but doesn't rule out prez run
He implored New Yorkers to stand up against the negativity by adding a twist to Trump's campaign slogan of making America great again.
Cuomo said Trump didn't win the election. Instead, Democrats lost the race.
(TY WRIGHT/GETTY IMAGES)
"If you want to make America strong again, then remember what made America strong in the first place — it's tolerance. It's brotherhood. It's acceptance. It's community. That is the way forward," he said.
The $75 to $50,000 per person fund-raiser was hosted by Robert De Niro, Tommy Mottola, Chazz Palminteri, and Jane Rosenthal.
Palminteri and De Niro introduced Cuomo, though Palminteri kept referring to the governor's last name as "Como."
Serious opponent could beat Mayor de Blasio in next election
De Niro, taking a dig at Trump's victory, noted that Cuomo in 2014 got more than half a million more votes than his closest competitor "and amazingly he still won. What a concept, the one with the most votes wins."
A Siena Research Institute poll released Monday showed that voters by a 47% to 44% margin said they would vote to re-elect Cuomo if he runs for reelection in 2018 as he has said he would.
But New Yorkers are less enthused about the prospect of Cuomo running for President, with 49% saying he should not do it while 44% said he should consider it. But 55% of New York Democrats say he should consider a presidential run, the poll found.
Cuomo, who has been dogged by the recent indictments of a former top aide and seven other associates in a federal corruption scandal that has rocked his administration, has often deflected questions about his national ambitions by saying he is focused on his job as governor and his plans to seek a third term in 2018.
Cuomo: Trump won election because Dems ignored middle class
It begins
Just say hello to a Trump reelection.
