Names and faces
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said
Friday that he was “inartful” when he said earlier in the week that America “was never that great,” a comment that was widely condemned and mocked by critics on the right and left. “I want to be very clear:
Of course America is great and of course America has always been great,” Cuomo, a Democrat, told reporters on a conference call. “My family is evidence of American greatness.” He also called the president “vindictive, petty and small,” and said “Make America Great Again” reflects Trump’s desire to return America to a time of greater intolerance and inequality. Earlier this week, speaking in Manhattan, he critiqued Republican President Donald Trump and his slogan, “Make America Great Again.” “We’re not going to make America great again — it was never that great,” Cuomo told the audience, which reacted with gasps and laughter. “We have not reached greatness. We will reach greatness when every American is fully engaged.” The comment set off a wave of criticism of Cuomo, who is seeking a third term this fall. New York Republicans demanded an apology and purchased Cuomo a one-way bus ticket to Montreal. Trump tweeted that Cuomo was having a “total meltdown.” Cuomo primary challenger and former “Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon accused Cuomo of trying to sound like a liberal and failing. On Friday, Trump ridiculed Cuomo again, tweeting that “when a politician admits that “We’re not going to make America great again,” there doesn’t seem to be much reason to ever vote for him.”
Cara Mund, the reigning Miss America, says she has been bullied, manipulated and silenced by the pageant’s current leadership, including Gretchen Carlson. In a letter sent Friday to former Miss Americas, Mund says she decided to speak out despite the risk of punishment. “Let me be blunt: I strongly believe that my voice is not heard nor wanted by our current leadership; nor do they have any interest in knowing who I am and how my experiences relate to positioning the organization for the future,” Mund wrote. She said that Carlson, the chairman of the Miss America Organization, and Regina Hopper, its chief executive officer, “essentially erased me in my role as Miss America in subtle and not-so-subtle ways on a daily basis,” leaving her out of interviews, not inviting her to meetings and calling her by the wrong name. Mund’s letter added to the turmoil surrounding the pageant three weeks before the next Miss America is to be crowned in Atlantic City. This year’s competition will not include swimsuits, and pageant officials from at least 19 states have called for the current leadership to resign. In a statement, the Miss America Organization said it would reach out directly to Mund, saying it is “disappointing” she publicly aired her concerns and that “her letter contains mischaracterizations and many unfounded accusations.”