New York Attorney General Letitia James is no stranger to frivolous litigation, whether it be her attempt to dissolve the NRA in New York, or her baseless attack on the Trump Organization.
She’s outdone herself this time however, threatening to sue President Donald Trump over something he never actually said or threatened to do.
As The Blaze reports regarding her comments, which are mischaracterizing what President Trump said while giving updates on Operation Warp Speed yesterday:
James accused Trump of “playing politics with people’s lives.”
“Any attempt by Donald Trump to deny New York access to a lifesaving #COVID19 vaccine will be met with a lawsuit, plain and simple,” she said. “Stop playing politics with people’s lives.”
In a statement, James further attacked Trump, accusing him of “vindictive behavior” and “trying to extract vengeance on those who oppose his politics.”
“If dissemination of the vaccine takes place in the twilight of a Trump Administration and the president wants to play games with people’s lives, we will sue and we will win,” she threatened.
Meanwhile, Cuomo accused Trump of being a “bully.”
Any attempt by Donald Trump to deny New York access to a lifesaving #COVID19 vaccine will be met with a lawsuit, plain and simple.
Stop playing politics with people's lives.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) November 13, 2020
As anyone who heard Trump’s comments themselves already knows, that isn’t what he said.
Trump was responding to prior comments from Cuomo that politicized the vaccine. Cuomo said “What I said I’m going to do in New York is we’re going to put together our own group of doctors and medical experts to review the vaccine and the efficacy and the protocol, and if they say it’s safe, then I’ll go to the people of New York and I will say it’s safe, with that credibility. But I believe all across the country, you’re going to need someone other than this FDA and this CDC saying it’s safe.”
And what Trump actually said was in response to that. “As soon as April, the vaccine will be available to the entire general population with the exception of places like New York state, where, for political reasons, the governor decided to say — and I don’t think it’s good politically, I think it’s very bad from a health standpoint, but he wants to take his time with the vaccine. He doesn’t trust where the vaccine’s coming from. These are coming from the greatest companies anywhere in the world, greatest labs in the world, but he doesn’t trust the fact that it’s this White House, this administration, so we won’t be delivering it to New York until we have authorization to do so, and that pains me to say that.”
Or to simplify it, the back and forth was effectively the following:
Gov. Cuomo: I won’t trust any vaccine that comes out of the Trump administration
Trump: We have a vaccine, but because you don’t trust it, we’ll give you the chance to opt-in if you decide you want it
Clueless liberals: This is an outrage!
