Cuomo Echoes Trump's Words In 'Buy American' Speech
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo had a different tone Monday as he talked about his future plans.
As CBS2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer reported, nobody quite expected that Cuomo would start talking like President Donald Trump's apprentice when they met at Trump Tower last week.
But now, the Democratic governor is sounding a whole lot like the Republican president of the United States. It was hard not to notice the similarities between Cuomo on the stump in Syracuse Monday and Trump's inauguration speech.
"I don't care – Democratic, Republican, conservative, liberal – keep the politics out of Albany," Cuomo said,
On Friday, Trump said, "What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people."
Cuomo on Monday said: "We want to put New York first and the people of New York first – the people, the people."
Trump said Friday, "January 20, 2017 will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again."
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So, Kramer suggested, Cuomo may have been trying to flatter the new president when he talked up a "buy American" proposal in which state agencies are required to give a preference for American-made products.
"We have to protect our jobs. We have to protect our manufacturing jobs. A lot of them are moving overseas. A lot of the companies are overseas," Cuomo said. "We want to have the most aggressive buy America proposal in the United States of America."
On Friday, Trump said: "From this day forward, it's going to be only America first. America first. Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs, will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries, making our products, stealing our companies, and stealing our jobs."
CBS2's Kramer spoke to one political expert, Baruch College professor Doug Muzzio, who pointed out that Cuomo's rhetoric flies in the face of his progressive agenda.
But Cuomo is probably echoing Trump, according to Muzzio, "because he thinks it will work" and will help when he runs for reelection next year.
