Trump's recent post on Twitter in which he promised to step up the US vetting program "tends to politicize the situation" and "plays into the hands of terrorists," Andrew Cuomo was quoted by The Guardian as saying.
"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," Cuomo said.
According to Cuomo, Trump's statements on Twitter "were not helpful."
"I think they were not factual. I think they tended to point fingers and politicize the situation…. His tweet wasn't even accurate as far as I'm concerned," the official stated.
I have just ordered Homeland Security to step up our already Extreme Vetting Program. Being politically correct is fine, but not for this!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 1 ноября 2017 г.
In his turn, the mayor of New York, Bill De Blasio, stressed that Trump's attempt to limit immigration to the United States amid a terrorist threat shouldn't be applied to groups of people based on their nationality or religious beliefs.
"We support vetting of individuals… not of groups of people just because they belong to a group… not because of their religion, or not because of their country of origin," De Blasio said, cited by the newspaper.
Later on, US President Donald Trump has also vowed to terminate the Diversity Immigration Lottery program. The suspect has reportedly been living in the US since 2010 through the Green Cards program.
Nine people were killed, and 11 injured, after a truck ploughed down pedestrians and cyclists on Tuesday, November 1. The New York attack has been named the most lethal attack since 9/11.
According to police, the attacker was Sayfullo Saipov from Uzbekistan. He arrived in the United States in March 2010 and reportedly worked as an Uber driver in New Jersey.
