He never said he would defy the medicals. Especially Dr. Birx. He appears to have a tremendous amount of respect for her.
He said that if they (the medicals) had their way we’d be shutdown for years. And it is his job to weigh the advice they give with what is necessary to keep our country functional.
Here is what Governor Cuomo said:
"I understand what the president is saying that this is unsustainable that we close down the economy and we continue to spend money. There is no doubt about that,” Cuomo said at a news conference in New York City.
“But if you ask the American people to choose between public health and the economy then it’s no contest. No American is going to say ‘accelerate the economy at the cost of human life,’” Cuomo argued.
- see https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/24/cuomo-on-coronavirus-and-trump-lives-at-risk-if-economy-speeded-up.html
Let's think about what Cuomo said.
If we assume he says what he means, he is saying that the economy cannot be restarted at the cost of any human life.
How is that even possible? I'm not asking Cuomo to say a certain number of lives are acceptable. But at what point can the economy start to re-open, Governor? Come on - you need to focus on COVID-19 AND the economy. That's what you get the big bucks for.
I apologize if this comes across as pedantic But Cuomo simply has no reasonable answer to President Trump. To Cuomo, there is no solution to starting the economy. None.