“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson.
I am happy to bring some good news, joy and hope to the legions of battered fellow citizens who fear the loss of trust and truth in our country and our world. Today, there is good reason to hope.
Nearly 9 in 10 New Yorkers say they trust Andrew Cuomo and approve of his efforts to fight the coronavirus, found a new Siena College poll that came out this morning.
For a person in public life in America in 2020, that is a stunning and significant number. It sure lifts my heart. The point isn’t that I’m trying to gush over my governor, the point is that this is the highest trust figure for any political figure in modern American history.
Something important is happening.
As someone who lives in his state, I’ve witnessed Andrew Cuomo’s harsh and unyielding strategy to stop the spread of the virus. He is the “no” Governor. I watched in wonder as he went from being a savvy and controversial politician to a true leader for the ages.
He has closed hundreds of thousands of businesses, shut down every school in the state, cost many thousands of people their jobs, postponed weddings and all construction work, delayed surgical and other medical procedures, kept people indoors, and families from visiting their loved ones in nursing homes and eldercare facilities.
When people want to go outside, he tells them to stay in, when they want to open up, he says to chill for a bit, when parents demand that their children go back to school, he says no, not yet. And nail salons and barbershops and tattoo parlors will not be opening up any time soon in New York State.
Everywhere he goes, grumbling, angry demonstrators, disruption, frustration, and worse follow him.
Yet he has earned the trust of almost everyone in the state by denying them almost everything they love and care about.
This is an astounding and seminal expression of trust in a politician who makes very tough decisions at a time where mistrust of government and politics has divided the country and made it possible for a President who is contemptuous and distrustful of government and of truth to take office.
Public trust in the government remains near historic lows, reports the highly respected Pew Research Center. Only 17 percent of Americans today say they can trust the government in Washington to do what is right (3 %) or “most of the time” (14%)/.
Americans some several federal agencies (the CDC) but do not trust people who hold positions of power. This was a central element in President Trump’s 2016 election, a contempt for the role of government in our lives, and a mandate to disrupt the government we have.
To me, this new poll is a landmark of a kind, an affirmation of hope and the promise of a return to the kind of government that will lead us, guide us, keep us safe, and earn our trust again.
It seems that truth does matter.
“Why is it that the poorest people always pay the highest price?” he asked at his press conference today, summoning up the kind of empathy people seem to be yearning for. “Can we change that?”
Andrew Cuomo is known for his short fuse and ruthless negotiating practices.
Some conservatives bitterly resent him for pushing through the most stringent gun control laws in the country. The progressives on the “left” mistrust him for working closely with Republicans and emphasizing the cost of social programs.
He is respected, but not generally loved.
For him to achieve this trust at such a difficult time amid so many confused and contradictory signals coming from everywhere is mind-boggling. Cuomo has been all alone in his stubborn crusade to face this Pandemic head on and prepare for it.
Throughout history, leaders have always instilled in their people a hope for success and a belief in themselves. They ask us to be better, not angry or uncaring. Positive leaders empower and inspire people to care for the vulnerable and accomplish their goals.
His crusade is turning out to be transformative. Politics this year will not be the same old, same old. “I’m not a politician,” he said in his press conference today. Only a true and very smart politician would say that.
These new trust figures may transform the political structure of the country once again; they tell us a great deal about how trust is returning as a major political issue and as something people desperately want to feel for their government.
They send a signal to every politician who panders to polls and hides behind lies. Truth is possible.
I’ve watched the Cuomo Phenomenon for months now, and there is no real mystery about how he did it.
He simply tells the truth, relying on facts, not ideology or speculation or polls.
He is self-deprecating.
He possesses a deep well of empathy, something that cannot be faked.
He does not yield to billionaires, polls, or pressure.
This strategy shocked a country desperate for truth as the virus erupted.
He also benefited from being contrasted with a President who seemed eager to act as his foil, his straight man, and a caricature of a leader in over his head. The new trust poll reveals the stunning gap between their styles of governing.
Trump deserves as much credit for the rise of Andrew Cuomo as Andrew Cuomo.
All the Governor had to do was be himself. And tell the truth.
Dr. Frankenstein created his very own monster.
Cuomo became a national figure overnight, watched everywhere, praised everywhere, and increasingly trusted to tell the truth about the virus: how it travels, what to expect. He gave no false promises and never downplayed the power of the disease to disrupt. He demanded our best and prepared for the worst.
No politician like Cuomo can ever really put his ego aside altogether. No one ought to doubt that this is a very political animal.
Still, he did seem to decide to step out of himself and help frightened and bewildered people figure out what to do. And trust what he asked them to do.
I would not have thought it possible in a state as contentious and diverse as this one.
I don’t want the President to take up all the space in this story, but his trust ratings when it comes to the virus have fallen into the ’30s.
He does not tell the truth and is continuously downplaying the illness, rather than preparing for it. First, he labeled it a Democratic Party and Media conspiracy, then as something that will soon and miraculously go away. Finally, he cozied up to the idea of injecting bleach and disinfectant into people.
He will never be able to slide around that moment.
We will open up, says Cuomo. In a few days, a few weeks, a few months. He is promising more blood, sweat, and tears, a better path, but a long and hard one.
People might trust the President to deal with the economy, they no longer trust him to handle the coronavirus crisis, even as he thrusts himself into the limelight day after day, hour after hour, and reminds us of his weakness and limitations. And that was before ChloroxGate. And the inevitable recession waiting to come out.
We find ourselves without a national leader to trust. Andrew Cuomo has risen to fill some of that void, the President doesn’t really want it and can’t seem to do it.
As a former journalist who loved his work every day, I learned to respect and honor the truth and always to try to practice it. We are all learning what Fake News is.
I didn’t always succeed in telling the truth, but I won’t ever stop trying or believing in it. I don’t know Governor Cuomo, have never met him, and have no connection to Democratic politics, here or in the country.
I am excited about what he has done. That’s how things change. Real leaders are happy to zig while others zag. Historically, the way to stand out from the crowd is to stand for something different, something special.
In our culture, telling the truth is now a revolutionary act, and Cuomo has become a revolutionary.
He has not only helped millions of people understand the virus and how to feel about it, but he has also shown us that the age of lying in public life may be ending, that faith in government can be restored, and that the truth still matters to many people.
He and my own Governor, Gavin Newsom are about the only political figures I trust. I am not a political person and was most recently a Republican. Don’t know what I am now. Disenfranchised mostly.
With you in that dear one!
Long before the Coronavirus, I wondered why Cuomo did not run for President? He had all the qualities to do so. Smart, tough, experienced, accomplished, pragmatic and empathetic. Mostly, I liked that Cuomo was not just a political partisan; jumping at every opportunity to denounce Republicans or even our inept President. Rather, Cuomo is a leader.
I absolutely believe Cuomo when he says he’s “not a politician” — or at least not the kind of politician that recent decades have foisted upon us.
Like you, I am dismayed and frustrated with the far left and far right of this country — the endless hate and disparagement. The name-calling, labels, blame, whining, and wild extremes and exaggerations on both sides. It’s draining and dispiriting.
I am also sick of “identity politics.”
To me, it’s is not about party, sex, color, religion, nationality or sexual identity.
It’s about the best PERSON for the job!
We see what electing an inexperienced TV game show host has brought us. Someone completely over his head to deal with a national crisis.
But nor do I like the choice between weak dictator and weak puppet.
This isn’t a normal election year — indeed nothing about this year is “normal.”
Politics as usual needs to be cast aside in favor of replacing Trump with an actual and competent leader.
I agree with you that Cuomo is that leader.
If the Democratic party is smart, it will find a way to make that happen. This is not the time to nominate for President, someone for whom we have to pay special attention to whom he selects as Vice President as that person will likely end up taking over many of the duties of the President.
Cuomo can more than handle the job himself.
I think he would make a wise, prudent, strong and possibly great President.
I think he’d make a great president but he has said repeatedly that he doesn’t want the job.
He has wanted the job his whole life, but he is very close to Joe Biden and I doubt he would make a move unless Biden asked him, which is unlikely. If Biden did step out for any reason, Governor Cuomo would not waste too much time thinking about it..He is famously ambitious..This was his moment, and he went for it.
I recognize that Governor Cuomo and Joe Biden are close. I hope, nevertheless, that Biden WILL ask him, and that Cuomo would offer Biden an honorable and powerful position in his administration (but not VP; Cuomo could honor Biden’s commitment to offering that slot to a woman). The horrendous decisions being made at the Federal level are not just damming the US but threaten the world’s climate. We can’t afford to gamble.
Thank you John as always for your eloquent truth saying.
Andrew Cuomo has been my president since mid-March. I don’t miss a briefing. I respect and trust him. He has a calming effect on me even when he is going over the worst parts of the news, because there is still a glimmer of hope. I wish he would run in the presidential election somehow.
I’m in GA.
That’s it, that’s the word, calming! I love to watch his news conferences but they are getting fewer and far between. A good thing for New Yorkers, but not us that just love listening to an adult that acts like one. An adult that teaches,explains, all at the same time he is giving us the respect we deserve. I am in Massachusetts and we have a beloved Gov here also. Gov. Baker (R). He’s more like a Dem than Rep but I’m not telling him that.
What I wouldn’t give for Andrew to run for Pres! Trump wouldn’t stand a chance no matter what trick he uses this time!!
I think Governor Cuomo is a typical New Yorker. He tells it like it is.
I agree. What’s funny that’s what trump supporters say. I guess the difference is I don’t ever feel like he is lying to me. Plus as Jon as mentioned he displays empathy as well as the facts. I love how Cuomo always makes a point to say this is my opinion. This is a fact.
Bravo!
Bravo!
I moved from New York to Marshfield Massachusetts 7 years ago, having lived in New York over 60 years. Charlie Baker has been a strong governor for us here, but more than one native Massachusetts resident has commented on the wonderful leadership of Andrew Cuomo. I personally consider Andrew Cuomo my President at this point. I tell my friends here that New Yorkers figured Trump out for what he is 40 years ago. That may be why he didn’t come anywhere close to carrying his home state and city in 2016. He often bragged that he would run the country like he ran his business. He has kept that promise with narcissism, bullying, racism, employing family as opposed to experts, you get the picture. We are now paying an enormous price for putting this man in office. I will continue to listen to the doctors, my governor, and Andrew Cuomo.
Bravo on the piece Jon!
Remarkable, we finally get to witness a true leader. We all need a breath of fresh air! However, it would make me even more relieved and excited if he was our chosen presidential candidate instead of Biden. We’re talking like this can happen. In all my readings I’m hearing there’s no way.
The comments are as good as the piece! So many people who are following Cuomo, and trusting in him, and wishing him to be their president. Me too.
I rarely miss a Cuomo update, because they always make me feel better and soothe my nerves. I avoid the president’s terrible “task force briefings” because they do the exact opposite: I feel worse and scared for my country. Plius anything he says cannot be trusted, just the opposite of Cuomo. I live in Washington State and am very happy with Jay Inslee as my governor. Cuomo is my stand-in President.
Your writing about Mr. Coumo touched me very deeply this morning. Throughout this pandemic I have sat back and listened to many different news broadcasters (both conservative & liberal) and the one thing I keep saying is, “I wish He would run for President” and yet, if he chose to and won, I fear it would lead to his destruction, that of soul and mind. The lack of integrity and ethics and credence has left me devoid of any positive feelings for Congress or higher government. I was raised to believe that the office of the President of the USA is to be one that is highly respected and honored, whether one likes or dislikes, agrees or disagrees, with the person in office – that both our President and Congress are voted in to work for and seek the greater good of the people. I understand that not everyone wins in this framework, but it certainly speaks to improved justice and equality. I cannot say this is true anymore…I am weary, and have a distrust that is growing every day. Finding hope for me, in this situation, is like looking for the needle in the haystack. I’m so tired of going to the voting booth to play a childhood game of “eenie-meanie-miney-moe” – choosing the best of the worst in terms of choice. Again, I thank you for writing and posting an authentic voice in this time of hopelessness!