New York city mayor and state governor yet to receive call from Donald Trump after terror attack
Andrew Cuomo says he is 'not bothered' that the President has not reached out
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Your support makes all the difference.Neither the mayor or the governor of New York have reportedly received a phone call from Donald Trump after the terror attack.
Governor, Andrew Cuomo said he was “not bothered” that the US President had not reached out, although protocol would usually dictate that he did so.
But he said he was "bothered by an attempt by anyone to try and politicise this situation."
"That plays right into the hands of the terrorists," he added. "They’re trying to disrupt, they’re trying to create mayhem, they’re trying to divide."
He also publicly criticised Mr Trump’s response to the attack and accused the president of dividing and frightening people.
“The president’s tweets I think were not helpful," he said. "I think they were not factual. I think they tended to point fingers and politicise the situation.... His tweet wasn’t even accurate as far as I’m concerned."
He added: “You play into the hands of the terrorists to the extent that you disrupt and divide and frighten people... the tone right now should be the exact opposite... the last thing it’s about is politics period.
“As far as the gun laws, I am increasingly proud that NY state passed some of the smartest gun laws in the country... I think it is madness, the number of assault weapons we have in this country.”
The first terrorist attack in New York since 9/11 saw Sayfullo Saipov, 29, plough through pedestrians and cyclists near the World Trade Centre in Manhattan before crashing into a schoolbus.
Eight people died in the attack and 11 were seriously injured.
In response to the attack, Mr Trump has said he wanted to immediately work with Congress to terminate the diversity immigration lottery programme, which he said was how the "animal" suspect got into the US.
“We need to get rid of the lottery program as soon as possible,” Mr Trump said. “We’re going to quickly as possible get rid of chain migration and move to a merit programme.”
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