Cuomo: Trump won election by seizing on ‘toxic’ national mood

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Thursday that President-elect Donald Trump won by seizing on a “toxic combination” of people suffering real economic problems while not trusting government to solve them.

Then Cuomo invited those who feel threatened by a Trump administration to come to New York.

“If any immigrant feels that they are under attack, I want them to know that the state of New York, the state that has the Statue of Liberty in its harbor, is their refuge,” Cuomo said in Syracuse.

He also invited gay Americans and those who feel threatened by Trump’s views on Muslims and other minority groups to come to New York.

“We respect all people in the state of New York,” he said.

“Yes, I understand the outcome of the election,” Cuomo told reporters. “I also understand there are principles that we won’t give up on … there are very strong philosophical differences. They are not going to go away.”

He said that, “as governor of the state of New York, I intend to keep up the debate and the dialogue.”

Cuomo, considered a possible presidential contender in 2020, said he will work with Trump. Cuomo said New York needs federal cooperation to land billions of dollars in transportation and infrastructure aid.

Cuomo blamed Democrat Hillary Clinton’s loss on a convergence of factors that Trump and unsuccessful Democratic primary candidate Bernie Sanders were able to address more effectively than other candidates.

“People were angry almost across the board,” Cuomo said. “Hillary Clinton in running against Bernie Sanders, and 40 percent of the state of New York voted against Hillary Clinton. That is astonishing.

“You put those two things together: A population with real problems and a government they don’t trust … that is a toxic combination and that’s what worked. I think that’s what this election was about more than anything else.”

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.