Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo is Guest on CNN's "New Day"

Interview

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Alisyn Camerota: When did we lose our confidence? When did we stop believing what we read in the press? And when did we get so angry? Those are just some of the 35 questions that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says Americans should be asking themselves as they head into the 2020 election. His full list appears in an op-ed in the this morning's Washington post. And Governor Cuomo joins us now. Good morning, Governor.

Governor Cuomo: Good morning, Alisyn. How are you?

Alisyn Camerota: I'm well. Great to see you. So these 35 questions, you go on to say, when did the political debate become reduced to 280 characters on Twitter? When did the number of Twitter followers become the measure of political viability? To whom are you posing these questions?

Governor Cuomo: All of us. To myself, to you, Alisyn, to voters all across the country. We're about 18 months away from choosing the next president, possibly the most important decision we'll make in modern political history, given all that's going on. Before we start to talk about individual candidates, my point is, let's look at the system that is now, that we're now using to pick these candidates. And look how the system has degraded. So much of it now is about social media and Twitter that's forcing candidates to come up with these oversimplified answers, that's sensationalized, that break through because they generate emotion, which then furthers the polarization that the people in this country are feeling. And it didn't work in the last election and it's not going to work in this election. So, before we get into the horse race, let's take a step back and realize that really our system, our process, is not doing this nation a service.

Alisyn Camerota: What do you do about that? When you figure out maybe social media isn't the best place for a policy discussion, then what do you do?

Governor Cuomo: Well, you first say, start with the premise you'll never solve a problem you're unwilling to admit, right? So admit the problem first and that's the first step towards a solution. You cannot answer these complicated issues on twitter. It doesn't work that way. You can't answer the question of, how do we get away from fossil fuels in 280 characters. These are complex issues, and it can't be thoroughly, intelligently, honestly answered in that format. How do we improve higher education? How do we address health care? We're doing it. We're doing it in this state, but you can't do it in 280 characters. And when you do, you force candidates, frankly, to deceive the public. We went through this in the last campaign, right? President Trump broke through. He had the celebrity. He understood the system. Frankly, I think he exploited that system. He had the hot issue, which was immigration, and what was his answer? A wall. We build a wall. It worked great on twitter. It communicated easily. It was only two words. It happened to be totally untrue and look where we are now. We're three years later, there's no wall, there's no answer, the problem is worse because it was never the answer, Alisyn.

Alisyn Camerota: Well, I do want to ask you about a couple of issues that came up last night at some CNN town halls. But first, having seen the Mueller report, now that it has been released--or at least the redacted version--do you believe the House should impeach President Trump?

Governor Cuomo: I think the attorney general did his preface of the report, which was unusual as a matter of process and I think he was deceptive with the American people. I think he put the President's best spin on the report, but I don't think that's the job of the attorney general. I was the attorney general in this state of New York and your job is to give the facts, not to become a political spin-meister. Now when you actually see the Mueller report, it is much different than I think the attorney general presented it and it does raise very real questions and it does raise a legitimate case that should be considered for impeachment. Now, whether or not the Democrats go down that road is a totally different question, right? I'm a very big believer in--people want to know what government is going to do for them and that's what the Democratic party should be focusing on. Their healthcare, their education, their jobs. But it's a legitimate question.

Alisyn Camerota: I want to ask you about one of the issues that came up last night where Senator Bernie Sanders talked about how felons in prison--currently in prison--maybe serving a life sentence, maybe in prison for a death sentence should still be able to vote. What do you think about that?

Governor Cuomo: I disagree with Bernie Sanders. You are in prison for a felony, you are paying your debt to society. I don't think you should have the right to vote and participate as a full citizen. Once you pay your debt to society, you're out, you're on parole in this state, you've been assimilated back into society, fine. Then you have a right to vote. But I totally disagree with Bernie Sanders.

Alisyn Camerota: There are 19 democratic candidates in the race. We hear there may be another one entering this week, possibly former Vice President Joe Biden. Is he still your candidate of choice?

Governor Cuomo: Well if I had a crystal ball, I would say, and I would hope that Joe Biden would get into the race. I think he has the best chance of defeating President Trump, which I think is the main goal here, right? He has the experience, he has the background, I've worked with him for years. He has the talent. I think he has the personality for the moment. And I think he can unify the Democratic party and again, focus on the goal. The goal is defeating President Trump, which is going to be easier said than done. But I think Joe Biden is in the best position to do that. I hope he gets into the race. For myself, I think I could do my best service by helping him win, if he does in fact get into the race.

Alisyn Camerota: And very quickly, do you regret not being one of these 19 candidates?

Governor Cuomo: I do not regret. I have a great job. I love what I'm doing. And I think I can help and I want to help elect the next Democratic president and I think that Joe Biden has the best shot at doing that.

Alisyn Camerota: Governor Andrew Cuomo, always great to see you and talk to you. Thanks for being here.

Governor Cuomo: Good to see you, pleasure Alisyn.

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