Gov. Cuomo said today he’s focusing like a laser on his job as governor – but he refused to rule out a 2016 bid for the White House following New York’s groundbreaking passage of gay marriage.
Asked if he was closing the door on 2016, Cuomo said, “No.”
Democrats ecstatic that Cuomo successfully steered a controversial same sex marriage bill through the state Legislature are now promoting him as presidential timber in the post-Barack Obama era.
Cuomo initially called talk of 2016 bid as “silly.”
“No, it’s not a possibility,” Cuomo said in his first extended interview on Albany’s Talk Radio 1300 AM after the gay marriage law was approved by the Republican-led state Senate on Friday.
“It’s not about 2016. It’s about the power of the passage of marriage equality,” he said of the presidential talk.
But when he was reminded that he flatly ruled out a future presidential run, Cuomo shifted gears.
Still, he downplayed White House ambitions. “I’m not going to engage in this conversation or fuel this speculation,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo emphasized there’s still a “ton of work to do” in Albany after an impressive first legislative session that included approval of a property tax cap, ethics reform and a state budget that trimmed spending and avoided tax hikes.