... "These are exactly the sort of events many Americans expect from President Donald Trump and his administration during the global public health crisis that has scared individuals and spooked the financial markets. But they are coming from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whom associates say is rising to the unhappy occasion with a take-charge attitude they had expected and a comforting manner that has come as a surprise.

And while Cuomo is technically only in charge of the matter as it affects the Empire State, political observers say he is filling the leadership role for people across the nation, especially as Trump's briefings offer mixed messages, personal grievances by the president and feuds with the press." ...

"He's becoming America's daddy and America's son at a time when people's communities and relationships are falling apart. He's become the protector of the people from a bullet they can't see," says Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime, New York-based political consultant who has known Cuomo his entire life." ...