Cuomo ‘ruling out’ run for Prez in 2020

ALBANY – Gov. Cuomo Tuesday definitively ruled out running for President in 2020.

“I am ruling it out,” Cuomo said during an appearance on WNYC’s “The Brian Lehrer Show.” “I ran for governor (in November). I have a full plate. ... I’m going to be here doing the job as governor.”

During an August Democratic gubernatorial primary debate with actress Cynthia Nixon, he said he planned to serve a full four-year term if reelected to a third term unless “God strikes me dead.”

But that didn’t stop insiders on both sides of the aisle from believing Cuomo might still consider entering the race once he was reelected.

“I’m governor of New York and I have a lot to do,” he said.

But the governor did have specific thoughts of the characteristics a Democrats presidential candidate should have, many of which he has used to describe himself.

“It’s not going to be enough to be anti-Trump,” Cuomo said. “We need a candidate who brings credibility and experience… to the job and can connect with the people we lost as Democrats — the working men and women of this country who went with Trump because of the void let by the Democratic party.”

That doesn’t mean that Cuomo is unwilling to work with the President.

The Governor said he is tentatively scheduled to meet with Trump and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao Wednesday morning to discuss the Gateway program that would double the number of passenger trains running under the Hudson River.

Cuomo several weeks ago sent Trump a video of the two aging, crumbling tunnels used by Amtrak and New Jersey Transit that he says threatens commerce in the northeast corridor should it collapse.

“The videos actually had a simple but impactful effect with the President,” he said during Lehrer’s show Tuesday.

Since sending the video, Cuomo said he and Trump have again spoken about the issue and tentatively scheduled Wednesday’s meeting.

Cuomo, then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and the Barack Obama White House had reached a deal in which the federal government would pay for half the $11.1 billion Gateway project to build a new tunnel, with the New York and New Jersey-controlled Port Authority splitting the rest. Another $1.6 billion go to rehab the deteriorating tunnels that were damaged during Hurricane Sandy in four years.

But Trump scrapped the deal, saying there should be more local costs and less reliance on federal loans.

Cuomo urged the Trump to reverse course, saying even if a decision were made immediately, it would likely take seven years to complete the project.

“This is not a partisan issue, but a practical government necessity,’ he said in his Tuesday afternoon statement.