Transcript of Remarks: Governor Cuomo Delivers Father’s Day Remarks at St. Paul Community Baptist Church
Cuomo Joined By Rev. Dr. David Keith Brawley
I don't want to focus on what's different. I want to focus on the unifying, connecting cord among us that makes a society. That's what makes it special. And I know we can do it—and you know we can do it—because when we were at our worst, God tested us. God sent COVID to this planet. And COVID was a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. And what we did in COVID, when we were all alone and it was a matter of life and death—we came together as one. And we helped one another. And we saved each other’s lives. And that shows how strong we can be together.
- Governor Andrew Cuomo
Video of Remarks Here
Photos of Event Here
Governor Cuomo, candidate for Mayor of New York City, joined Rev. Dr. David Keith Brawley and delivered remarks at St. Paul Community Baptist Church.
In his remarks, Cuomo emphasized the need for the Democratic Party to reconnect with working- and middle-class Americans by focusing on tangible results rather than rhetoric. He reflected on lessons from his father, Governor Mario Cuomo, and urged the party to prioritize delivering real results for New Yorkers and warned against the divisive politics of Donald Trump, calling for unity and action to address the real challenges facing everyday people.
A transcript of remarks below:
God is good.
Thank you so much for having me, having me back. I was here for the mayoral forum that the Reverend was referring to. He asked me the hardest questions of all the candidates. I know he did—I listened. But Reverend, thank you very much for what you did. Thank you for that mayoral forum. It was a great service for the entire city. Let's give the Reverend a great round of applause.
Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there. I have my daughter with me today, Michaela. Stand up, Michaela. She is good-looking 'cause she got her looks from her mother. Thank God. Thank God for that.
But we're gonna have a good day today. And Father's Day—I go back to thinking about my father, who was Governor of New York from 1982 to 1994. He was my best friend. Mario Cuomo was his name. And he was a giant. He was a giant. And they say the spirit—the spirit lives eternal. I still talk to my father. I still talk to him, and he still answers. We even still argue.
But I was talking to him about this whole mayoral situation and where we are in this country and watching everything that's going on. I'll tell you the truth—in some ways, I'm glad that he's not here. He'd be sick to his stomach to see what was going on.
And part of this Democratic primary is a chance for introspection. It's a chance for the Democrats to look in the mirror, right? What is our role in this? What are we doing that we shouldn't be doing? How do we do our job better? Right? That's what the Democratic primary is all about.
My father would say two things. He would say, number one: the Democratic Party lost touch with the essence of the Democratic Party—the working men and women who are the Democratic Party. You know, we are Queens folks, middle-class folks. My father was from Jamaica, Queens. Public education. There's nothing fancy about us. And the Democratic Party was the voice of that middle class and working class looking to rise up. And somehow, the Democratic Party isn't at the kitchen table anymore. And it's not in the conversation at the kitchen table. They're not talking about your mortgage and how expensive the groceries are and how high the taxes are and how hard it is to pay the rent. The Democratic Party just lost touch with the people. We are the Democratic Party talking about a lot of things, but not things that matter on a daily basis.
And the second thing he would say is the Democratic Party was not about just rhetoric and talk. It was about deliveries. See, when the Reverend is saying, “We have to do it now,” that's a nice way of saying the Democratic Party isn't delivering. Nothing is happening. And government is not about talking—it is about the doing, right?
Scripture says it is not words—it’s deeds. It's getting things done. Make the difference in my life. I pay my taxes. I want you to do something for me, right? Make life better for me.
And I would say, “But boy, that's a big challenge,” right? My father would say, “No—we know we can do it because we've done it before.”
Can we build affordable housing? Of course, we can build affordable housing. I was the HUD Secretary under Bill Clinton—National Housing and Urban Development Secretary. Built hundreds of units of affordable housing all across the nation. It's not that hard. You take a brick, you put a little cement, you take another brick, you put it on top, you take another brick… It’s not that hard.
We built LaGuardia Airport—that was hard, okay? We built the Mario Cuomo Bridge across the Hudson River—that was hard. They're talking about the circumference of the earth, you know, when you're building a bridge—that was hard. Second Avenue Subway was hard. Moynihan Train Station was hard. We got these things done in two, three, four, five years. It’s now taking us ten years to build an affordable housing complex. It’s not that hard. We can get it done.
We can raise the minimum wage up to $20 an hour and put money in people's pockets. We did it before.
We can improve that education system so there's not two education systems—one for the rich and one for the poor. Because the education system is what makes the American Dream a reality. We know we can do these things because we did it before.
We passed free college tuition so no middle-class family has to worry about paying college tuition again. We know we can do these things—we just have to do them.
And the last point my father would say is: “I'm worried about this guy Trump.” That’s what he would say. “I'm worried about this guy Trump,” for two reasons.
Number one: He is cutting the funding that is essential to places like New York. He's cutting the funding for health care for people who need it. He's cutting all the housing funding—my old department, HUD. He's cutting all that funding. Education funding for poorer districts—he’s cutting all of that. And that’s in his big budget, whatever he calls that thing.
He is decimating cities all across the country—primarily Democratic cities. That’s number one.
But number two: What he’s doing, which is even more insidious, is he is dividing this country. He is dividing this country. He sells division. He sells division. And he does it subtly—like a dog whistle.
You know, he started this immigration issue, right? It was the wedge that went in the crack and started to open the cracks between people. “Well, these illegal immigrants are allowed in—how is that fair?” And it started to divide us, right?
And the divisions have gotten deeper and deeper and deeper. And the racial divisions and the religious divisions and the new immigrant versus the old immigrant divisions, right? That’s what he's doing—because he knows divide and conquer still works.
And that’s what this man is selling: divide and conquer. And he is doing it all across the country. And he is very effective at it.
Now, you hear in New York this antisemitism that is cropping up, right? That’s a symptom of the division disease that he has injected into the culture. And that just keeps spreading. Because if you want to talk about differences, we can talk about it all day long—because we all have differences.
And the only way we make this work is we talk about the commonalities, not the differences. I don't want to focus on what's different. I want to focus on the unifying, connecting cord among us that makes a society. That's what makes it special.
And I know we can do it—and you know we can do it—because when we were at our worst, God tested us. God sent COVID to this planet. And COVID was a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. And what we did in COVID, when we were all alone and it was a matter of life and death—we came together as one. And we helped one another. And we saved each other’s lives.
And that shows how strong we can be together.
Thank you, and God bless you.
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