Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave an update on the explosion that injured dozens of people on a Manhattan block last night. Although Mayor de Blasio previously said the "intentional" Chelsea explosion was not related to terrorism, Cuomo took things one step further: "A bomb exploding in New York is obviously an act of terrorism." He hastened to add, "At this time there's no evidence of an international terrorism connection with this incident, but it is very, very early in the investigation."
NY Gov. Cuomo: "At this time, there is no evidence of an international terrorism connection" https://t.co/N3hqPisvQj https://t.co/xXMzI6OZ3r
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 18, 2016
Cuomo reiterated de Blasio's statement that there was no threat to NYC, but to "err on the side of caution," Cuomo said nearly 1,000 extra NY State Police and National Guard will be deployed in the city.
The scene in Chelsea this morning where Gov Cuomo received briefing and survyed area pic.twitter.com/YaXxYAVJBP
— Melissa DeRosa (@melissadderosa) September 18, 2016
Expanding on his terrorism claims, Cuomo said during the solo press conference, "We're not going to let them win. We're not gonna let them win. What do they want? They want to instill terror. That's what they want. They want to make you afraid. They want to make you worry about going into New York City or New York State. They want to make you worry about going across a bridge or a subway. We're not going to let them instill fear, because then they would win."
He added that subways should be up and running as normal by Monday morning's commute: "I want New Yorkers to be confident when they go back to work on Monday that New York is up and running and we're doing everything that we need to do."
As many in the media pointed out this morning, the disconnect between Cuomo and de Blasio—a rivalry fueled by ego and playground taunts—created unnecessary confusion and led to the somewhat contradictory language. And it all could have been avoided, if the two men had done the press conference together rather than stagger their pressers an hour apart. Or if they, ya know, had just talked to each other before speaking.
Cuomo with an extended riff on how terrorism instills fear, while BdB said last night no evidence "of a terror connection."
— erica orden (@eorden) September 18, 2016
@NYGovCuomo says he believes @BilldeBlasio meant there are "no ties to international terrorism and he's right" pic.twitter.com/Dx5eE2CHrV
— Pei-Sze Cheng (@PeiSzeCheng4NY) September 18, 2016
"That's the way we normally handle these type of situations" @NYGovCuomo on why he's holding a separate press conference from @BilldeBlasio
— laura (@nahmias) September 18, 2016
"That's the way I normally handle these types of situations when I hate someone's guts" https://t.co/WCoKIxUi6D
— Jen Chung (@jenchung) September 18, 2016
It's unbelievable that the governor and the mayor can't put aside their differences and hold a joint news conference on the Chelsea bomb.
— Bob Hardt (@bobhardt) September 18, 2016
Cuomo takes implicit shot at DeBlasio https://t.co/ODg69Cquba
— Scott Ruesterholz (@Read_N_Learn) September 18, 2016
I get the feeling that Cuomo would run for mayor if he could hold two offices at once.
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) September 18, 2016
Matthew Miller, the former Justice Department spokesman under former Attorney General Eric Holder, summed up the situation:
Cuomo's solo presser, announcing FBI findings & deploying cops locals prob don't need, is a model for how not to manage public safety event.
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) September 18, 2016
If Cuomo wants to talk, he should go to the joint presser. If you can't put ego & rivalry aside during a public safety event, when can you?
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) September 18, 2016
At least Cuomo and de Blasio were able to put their differences aside long enough to tour the area this morning while standing within proximity to each other.
Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo speaking to biz owners on 23rd street near site of explosion. pic.twitter.com/gStE9vALNP
— Zolan V Kanno-Youngs (@KannoYoungs) September 18, 2016
@BilldeBlasio and @NYGovCuomo shake hands and embrace before touring bombing site together
— J. David Goodman (@jdavidgoodman) September 18, 2016