>> Stephen: WELCOME BACK, EVERYBODY.

MY GUEST TONIGHT IS THE 56TH GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF

NEW YORK.

PLEASE WELCOME GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO!

THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING WITH US, GOVERNOR, AND THANK YOU FOR

EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING TO KEEP OUR STATE SAFE AND THE PUBLIC

INFORMED.

>> THANK YOU.

>> Stephen: HOW ARE YOU?

I'M DOING WELL.

SO FAR, SO GOOD.

AS WELL AS I CAN BE DOING UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, ANYWAY,

STEPHEN.

THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

PLEASURE TO BE WITH YOU.

I'M A BIG FAN.

>> Stephen: WELL, SIR, I KNOW YOU'RE SEQUESTERED RIGHT NOW

WITH ADULT CHILDREN.

THAT'S IN YOUR LITTLE QUARANTINE BUBBLE.

HOW IS THAT, HAVING THE ADULT KIDS AT HOME WITH YOU?

>> THAT'S ACTUALLY COOL.

YOU KNOW, MY KIDS ARE 22, 25 AND 25 TWINS, THREE GIRLS.

I NORMALLY CAN'T GET THEM TO COME HOME TO VISIT ME, STEPHEN.

I NORMALLY HAVE TO PAY THEM TO COME VISIT ME.

THEY WANT TO CHECK WHEN THEY COME.

>> Stephen: SURE.

O TO HAVE THEM WITH ME HAS REALLY BEEN A SILVER LINING IN A

WEIRD WAY, YOU KNOW.

>> Stephen: YES.

BECAUSE THEY'RE OUT THERE LIVING THEIR LIFE, THE LAST

THING THEY WANT TO GO IS GO HANG OUT WITH DAD IN ALBANY, YOU

KNOW.

>> Stephen: I KNOW.

BUT THEY HAVE BEEN HERE, AND IT'S BEEN VERY HELPFUL TO ME

BECAUSE, WITH EVERYTHING GOING ON, IT'S JUST VERY GROUNDING FOR

ME TO GO HOME AND HAVE THEM THERE AND HEAR THEIR ABUSE,

WHICH I'M ACCUSTOMED TO AND COMES FROM A GOOD PLACE.

>> Stephen: HOW ABOUT THE BOYFRIEND?

IS THE BOYFRIEND STILL WITH YOU?

>> THE BOYFRIEND IS STILL WITH US, YES.

>> Stephen: AND WE LIKE THE BOYFRIEND?

>> YES, WE LIKE THE BOYFRIEND.

OFFICIAL COMMENT, WE LIKE THE BOYFRIEND.

PERSONAL COMMENT, I LIKE THE BOYFRIEND.

I LEARNED THAT LESSON THE HARD WAY, YOU HAVE TO SAY YOU LIKE

THE BOYFRIEND, NO MATTER WHATEVER YOU FEEL BECAUSE

THEY'RE STILL IN THE REBELLION PHASE.

IF YOU SAY YOU DON'T LIKE THE BOYFRIEND, THEY WILL MAR BY THE

BOYFRIEND TO SPITE YOU.

SO, YES, I LIKE THE BOYFRIEND.

>> Stephen: AND HERE'S WHY I THINK YOU LIKE THE BOYFRIEND

BECAUSE YOU'RE WILLING TO TALK ABOUT WHETHER YOU LIKE THE

BOYFRIEND.

BECAUSE IF YOU DIDN'T LIKE THE BOYFRIEND, YOU WOULD NEVER

MENTION THE BOYFRIEND.

>> I ACTUALLY LIKE THE BOIFNLD.

AND THE BOYFRIEND HAS BEEN IN CLOSE PRACTICE I WANT, AND IF I

DIDN'T LIKE THE BOYFRIEND, THAT WOULD HAVE COMMUNICATED NOW

THROUGH VARIOUS MEANS AND METHODS.

>> Stephen: I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT SOMETHING YOU TALKED

ABOUT IN YOUR PRESS BRIEFING YESTERDAY.

NEW YORK CITY OVERALL -- NEW YORK STATE OVERALL NUMBERS

ARE DROPPING, BUT YOU REPORTED YESTERDAY THAT IN A SURVEY OF

1,300 NEW COVID PATIENTS, 66% OF THEM HAD BEEN STAYING AT HOME.

DO WE KNOW WHY THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE STAYING AT HOME ARE STILL

GETTING SICK?

>> YEAH, IT'S ACTUALLY INTERESTING, STEPHEN.

THE CLOSE-DOWN HAS WORKED SO WELL, AND WHAT WE FEARED DIDN'T

COME TRUE.

I WAS AFRAID THAT THE ESSENTIAL WORKERS WOULD HAVE A HIRING

IFECTION RATE -- THE HEALTHCARE, TRANSIT WORKERS, POLICE.

>> Stephen: MAKES SENSE.

THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN.

ACTUALLY, THE HEALTHCARE WORKERS, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, HAVE

A LOWER INFECTION RATE THAN THE GENERAL POPULATION, WHICH JUST

SHOWS THE P.P.E., THE MASKS, ET CETERA, ACTUALLY WORKS.

THE INFECTION RATE IS NOW DOWN TO AN INCREASE AMONG THOSE

PEOPLE WHO STAY HOME, MEANING THE CLOSE-DOWN IS WORKING.

WE'RE DOWN TO A LEVEL NOW WHERE IT'S PURE PERSONAL BEHAVIOR AND

WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE WEARING A MASK AND YOU'RE USING SANITIZER.

BECAUSE PEOPLE WHO ARE AT HOME WHO ARE NOT WORKING, NOT TAKING

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, THAT'S THE ONLY AREA THAT WE STILL SEE

GROWTH, AND THAT'S ACTUALLY GOOD NEWS.

>> Stephen: NOW, 30 STATES ARE EITHER OPENING OR CLOSE TO

OPENING, BUT MOST OF THOSE STATES DON'T MEET THE FEDERAL

GUIDELINES, EVEN THE GUIDELINES PUT OUT BY THE WHITE HOUSE

THEMSELVES.

NEW YORK'S NOT REOPENING YET, BUT DO YOU HAVE A PLAN IN PLACE?

>> YEAH.

WE HAVE A VERY SPECIFIC PLAN, PROBABLY THE MOST SPECIFIC PLAN,

AND THE GOVERNING PHILOSOPHY IS -- I UNDERSTAND THE ANXIETY

AND THE STRESS AND WE ALL WANT THE OPEN AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE,

EVERYBODY DOES, MYSELF INCLUDED, BUT YOU DON'T OPERATE OUT OF

EMOTION AND PASSION, RIGHT?

YOU STAY WITH FACTS AND DATA.

SO WE HAVE BEEN DOING THAT ALL ALONG.

WE FOLLOW THE SCIENCE, WE FOLLOW THE FACTS, WE FOLLOW THE DATA,

AND WE'RE GOING TO REOPEN BY THE DATA.

WE KNOW HOW MANY HOSPITALIZATIONS WE HAVE, WE

KNOW WHAT THE INFECTION RATE IS, WE KNOW WHAT THE TESTING RATE

IS.

FOLLOW THE DATA.

AND I THINK THE C.D.C. DID HAVE GUIDELINES AND, YOU'RE RIGHT,

MANY STATES ARE REOPENING, EVEN THOUGH THE GUIDELINES ARE NOT

BEING FOLLOWED.

WE'RE IN THE OPPOSITE PLACE.

NEW YORK, THE NUMBERS ARE ALL GOING DOWN ON EVERY LEVEL.

MANY OF THE OTHER STATES, THE NUMBERS ARE STILL GOING UP, AND

THEY'RE REOPENING.

THAT NOT ONLY VIOLATES C.D.C.

GUIDELINES, THAT VIOLATES COMMON SENSE AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO

THAT.

WE ARE GOING TO FOLLOW THE DATA.

WE ARE ON THE WAY DOWN.

IN ABOUT A WEEK, YOU WILL SEE SOME REGIONS IN THE STATE WITH

LOWER NUMBERS STARTING TO REOPEN THEIR ECONOMIES AND THEN, AS

THOSE NUMBERS STABILIZE, YOU WILL SEE MORE ECONOMIC GROWTH.

>> Stephen: WELL, YOU MADE A GOOD POINT THAT, WHILE,

NATIONALLY, THERE MAY BE A FLATTENING OF THE CURVE, IF YOU

TAKE NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY, CONNECTICUT, IF YOU TAKE THOSE

NUMBERS WHERE THE NUMBERS ARE GOING DOWN, IF YOU TAKE THAT OUT

OF THE EQUATION, FOR THE REST OF THE COUNTRY, WE'RE STILL GOING

UP.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR THE OTHER GOVERNORS WHO ARE

GOVERNING STATES RIGHT NOW THAT DO NOT HAVE THE SAME CRISIS

LEVEL OF COVID INFECTIONS THAT NEW YORK EXPERIENCED BUT ARE IN

NO WAY EXEMPT FROM IT JUST BECAUSE IT HASN'T HAPPENED YET.

>> NO, STEPHEN, I THINK IT IS SHORT-TERM -- I UNDERSTAND THE

SHORT-TERM BENEFIT OF OPENING.

THE PRESSURE TO OPEN IS TREMENDOUS.

THE POLITICAL PRESSURE IS TREMENDOUS.

PEOPLE WANT OUT.

THEY WANT OUT OF THE HOME.

PEOPLE NEED A PAYCHECK, THEY WANT TO GET BACK TO WORK, THEY

WANT TO MAKE SURE THEY HAVE A JOB.

I GET IT.

SO I UNDERSTAND THE SHORT-TERM PRESSURE.

BUT LONG TERM, WE HAVE SEEN WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN COUNTRIES THAT

OPEN TOO QUICKLY, AND THEN THEY WIND UP CLOSING AGAIN.

TO OPEN AND THEN CLOSE TWO WEEKS LATER OR THREE WEEKS LATER

BECAUSE THAT INFECTION RATE GOES THROUGH THE ROOF AGAIN MAKES NO

SENSE.

CALIBRATE THE OPENING AND DON'T OPEN UNTIL YOU HAVE THOSE

NUMBERS UNDER CONTROL.

NOW, YOU'RE RIGHT, NEW YORK, WE HAVE -- WE'RE ON THE DECLINE.

THE REST OF THE COUNTRY IS STILL ON THE INCLINE, WHEN YOU TAKE

OUT NEW YORK, AND IN ABOUT ONE WEEK, AGAIN, YOU WILL START TO

SEE SOME REGIONS OPEN, BUT I THINK IT IS A MISTAKE TO RESPOND

TO THE EMOTION WHEN YOU KNOW THE FACTS ARE SAYING SOMETHING

DIFFERENT.

SO I SUGGEST COMMUNICATE THE FACTS TO PEOPLE.

YOU KNOW, I QUOTED LINCOLN TODAY IN ONE OF MY PRESS BRIEFINGS.

LINCOLN REALLY BELIEVED IN THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, AND HE SAID, IF

YOU TELL THEM THE TRUTH, THEY WILL KEEP THE COUNTRY SAFE.

WHAT I HAVE BEEN DOING ALL THROUGH THIS IS JUST GIVING

PEOPLE THE FACTS, RIGHT.

LAY OUT THE FACTS, AND THEY WILL DO THE RIGHT THING.

AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING IN NEW YORK, AND IT HAS WORKED.

>> Stephen: HOW IS THE COMMUNICATION AND THE

COOPERATION GONE BETWEEN THE -- I'M NOT SURE HOW MANY STATES IT

WAS IN THE NORTHEAST THAT YOU FORMED A SORT OF A COOPERATIVE

GROUP OF STATES, NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY, RHODE ISLAND,

CONNECTICUT -- >> DELAWARE, MASSACHUSETTS,

CONNECTICUT, YEAH.

WE HAVE ABOUT SEVEN STATES WE WORK WITH WHICH ARE ALL

BASICALLY CONTIGUOUS, RIGHT, AND IT MAKES SENSE BECAUSE THE VIRUS

DOESN'T STOP AT A STATE BOUNDARY, AND PEOPLE GET IN CARS

AND THEY DRIVE AND AMTRAK GOES THROUGH THESE STATES, SO WE'RE

COORDINATING THE BEST WE CAN OUR CLOSING POLICY AND OUR REOPENING

POLICY.

TO MAKE SURE WE KNOW WHAT EACH OTHER IS DOING BECAUSE, WHATEVER

ONE STATE DOES AFFECTS ANOTHER STATE, RIGHT?

WE'RE SEEING NOW SOME STATES THAT OPENED UP AND PEOPLE FROM

SURROUNDING STATES ARE NOW GOING TO THAT STATE.

IF CONNECTICUT OPENS UP BEACHES, YOU WILL SEE NEW YORKERS GOING

TO CONNECTICUT.

SO -- >> Stephen: GEORGIA ALLOWED

HAIRCUTS AND PEOPLE FLOODED INTO GEORGIA TO GET THEIR HAIRCUTS.

>> YOU HAVE SUCH A PENT-UP DEMAND, RIGHT.

PEOPLE WILL GO ANYWHERE.

PEOPLE WILL GO IN THE CAR FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS JUST TO GET OUT

OF THE HOUSE.

>> Stephen: SPEAKING OF HAIRCUTS, YOUR BROTHER CHRIS GOT

A VERY SHORT HAIRCUT.

SERIOUS QUESTION, I THOUGHT DOG GROOMERS WERE ALL CLOSED IN

NEW YORK.

>> WELL, WHERE HE WENT WAS EVEN WORSE THAN GOING TO A DOG

GROOMER.

HE HAD THE COVID VIRUS.

HE THEN GAVE HIS WIFE THE COVID VIRUS.

>> Stephen: OH, NO.

HE WAS QUARANTINED IN THE BASEMENT, SHE WAS QUARANTINED

UPSTAIRS.

AFTER HE GAVE HER THE COVID VIRUS, HE TOLD ME THAT SHE

FORGAVE HIM.

HE THEN GAVE HER THE SHEARS TO CUT HIS HAIR.

AND SHE CUT HIS HAIR LIKE DELILAH CUT SAMSON'S HAIR, AND

SHE GAVE IT ALL BACK TO HIM.

SO THAT WAS A PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE, STILL ANGRY HAIRCUT.

HE HAS A SHORTER HAIRCUT, I TOLD HIM IT'S LIKE A PRISON HAIRCUT.

>> Stephen: EXACTLY.

HE'S GOT A SLIGHTLY INSTITUTIONALIZED FEELING TO IT.

HE HAS SHOELACES STILL.

>> OH, YEAH.

>> Stephen: BACK WITH MORE GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO.

♪ ♪