MSNBC host Joy Reid slammed Donald Trump during a discussion about a possible Covid-19 vaccine with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, calling out the president for continuing to hold large, non-socially distanced and mostly maskless campaign rallies even as the pandemic continues on.

During her Friday evening show, Reid conducted a phone interview with the governor in response to hist Thursday announcement that he would have his own state’s public health board review any federally-approved Covid vaccine before allowing it to be distributed in New York. The move,  prompted by concerns that Trump has politicized the timetable for the vaccine’s trials to help his re-election, prompted a backlash from the president on Friday, when suggested Cuomo’s move would put New York at the “end of the vaccine list.”

“Do you take that as a threat, as Donald Trump saying somehow he could withhold a vaccine from the state of New York?” Reid began.

“Yeah, that’s called a threat. That’s called ‘I will put New York at the end of the list.’ That’s what he’s trying to say,” Cuomo replied. “But, look, I don’t trust the president. And I don’t trust the FDA. And the doctor who you just had an your show was exactly right. They have lied about Covid from day one. They lied in January when [Trump White House trade adviser] Peter Navarro had the memo saying 2 to 3 million people would get infected, and they denied it. They denied Covid was here. They’re denying it now.”

Cuomo then pointed out that the level of nationwide testing is declining, even as the number of cases across the country has been rising for the past two weeks and topped 45,000 again on Thursday. That pushed the seven-day average up to 42,000, marking the highest level since the start of September.

“Florida now does fewer tests than they did two months ago,” Cuomo noted. This is the Trump doctrine. Do fewer tests so you will show fewer cases. Remember he said if you test less, we’ll have fewer cases. That’s what he’s doing, the vaccine. He said yesterday that the FDA was being political in saying they actually wanted to review the vaccine. So, yeah, the American people don’t trust the FDA. They shouldn’t. Trump has politicized this entire situation. He’s overwritten health and science with politics.”

As the governor made his comments, viewers watched clips of Trump’s recent campaign rallies, which have routinely featured very little mask-wearing — mainly just behind Trump where supporters show up on TV — and zero social distancing.

“We’re looking right now at one of these super spreader rallies. And he’s sort of like Typhoid Trumpy going from state to state with these super spreaders,” Reid said, before training her sights on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who announced he was rolling back almost all of his state’s Covid restrictions on indoor gatherings on Friday.

“Florida has a larger population and an older population than New York,” Reid noted. “What do you make of another governor, a fellow governor who is behind New York on the calendar in terms of Covid, blasting that state and who knew the risks because you were on TV saying them. Making the choice to reopen Disney World, reopen bars, reopen restaurants and just without thinking? What do you make of a governor who would do that to his own people?”

“It is reprehensible,” Cuomo insisted. “We did reopen the economy, but we did it with testing. And our economy has been open, but we have an infection rate that’s one of the lowest in the nation. It was never a choice of either or. And these other states had months to get ready, and some of them listened to President Trump. They are lying about it. It’s an ugly word, but it’s ugly action that they’re taking. They’re denying it. Testing less to cover it up, and people are dying. I mean, we lose more people than France, Spain, UK, Italy, combined every day. I mean, it’s disgusting.”

Watch the video above, via MSNBC.

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