Coronavirus: The Rise of Democratic Governors
Jonah Miller
Since 2017, the Trump administration has failed to unite the country. Even during a global pandemic, when Americans need someone to guide them, Trump and White House remain incapable of projecting an amalgamating message to the public. Correspondingly with these dividing trends, it’s no surprise that governors around the United States are tasked with piloting the American charge against the Coronavirus. While the White House continues to smear irrelevant data and downplay the severity of a global pandemic, state governors have quickly emerged as some of the most prominent voices in politics.
I live in New York, where new confirmed cases are jumping at a rate of over 7000 each day, dominating the daily news cycle. Chances are, if you have turned on the news anytime within the last few weeks, you were probably met with a press conference in Albany, New York. My governor, Andrew Cuomo, who is usually seen as abrasive and harsh, has risen to the national spotlight in recent weeks as comforting, arising as the Democratic party’s unifying voice during a politically polarizing time.
Although Cuomo typically faces harsh criticism from his fellow Democratic governors and congresspeople, he has been met with praise for his analytical consciousness and empathy. Joe Biden, the presumptive 2020 Democratic nominee, called Cuomo’s daily briefings a “lesson in leadership” while others have compared them to therapy sessions.
Governor Cuomo’s brother, Chris Cuomo, the host of Cuomo Prime Time on CNN, is often found interviewing his older brother on television. Their live conversations, broadcasted to thousands, where they jokingly tease each other, are seen as a comforting reminder that the news is not solely the bearer of unfortunate events.
Cuomo’s clarity and transparency is a rarity for politicians, especially when compared to Trump’s seemingly perfidious Coronavirus Task Force (except for Fauci and Birx, of course) as the figurehead of the American fight against a pandemic.
Moreover, his pragmatic approach to confronting the Coronavirus and the intimidation from the White House is commended nationally. Similarly, other Democratic governors are following suit, standing up to Trump and his egocentric, thoughtless prerequisite for “respect” in turn for necessary medical supplies, including ventilators.
Juxtaposed with the federal government’s weak 38% approval rating for handling the Coronavirus (1), 87% of New Yorkers approve of Cuomo’s actions to combat the virus (2). Andrew Cuomo has become a household name, seen as the distinguished leader of the Coronavirus fight.
Outside of the outbreak hotspot of New York, other Democratic governors, such as Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, have seen approval ratings skyrocket as well.
Honestly, although it should be the job of the federal government to promote an indication of calm and peace across the country as a whole, when you have Donald Trump as your president, you expect the least and receive even less in terms of leadership. In turn, governors have truly delivered, providing a sense of unity, instead of Trump’s taunting and dividing.
In the end, I’m proud to be a New Yorker. I’m proud to have Andrew Cuomo as my governor. Who knows where our country would be if we did not have confident, pragmatic governors to call on and trust when we need them the most.
(1) As seen in a poll conducted by the National Opinion Research Center for the Associated Press
(2) As seen in a poll conducted by Siena College