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President Trump has frequently asked Andrew Cuomo about the health of his COVID-19-stricken brother, Chris Cuomo, the New York governor revealed on Monday.

Cuomo told Howard Stern that he did not believe Trump was happy that his brother, a CNN anchor and frequent critic of the president, contracted the coronavirus.

Trump has routinely bashed CNN and its reporters and commentators whom he accuses of spreading ‘fake news.’

‘Do you think [Trump's] happy your brother got coronavirus because he works for CNN?’ Stern asked the governor on his SiriusXM talk show on Monday.

‘No,’ Cuomo replied.

‘He’s been critical of Trump,’ Stern said.

‘Do you think [Trump] sits there and says, “Oh good,” like there’s an enemies list or something like that? I feel it’s that vicious.’

President Trump (left) frequently inquires about the health of CNN anchor and Trump critic Chris Cuomo (right), according to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo

The governor (seen above in Albany last Tuesday) also praised Trump for 'delivering for New York'

The governor replied: ‘The president always makes a point of saying to me, “How is Chris? Is he doing OK?”

‘And that's not in his usual character.

‘We're not chit-chatty when we're on the phone.

‘But he always makes a point to say that about Chris and always remembers my mother.’

On March 31, Chris Cuomo, 49, announced that he tested positive for coronavirus.

Cuomo made the comments during an interview on Monday with radio host Howard Stern

Since his diagnosis, he has done several shows while in quarantine from inside his Long Island home.

During the national lockdown, Andrew Cuomo has been a frequent guest on his brother’s nightly CNN show, during which the two men engage in friendly, sibling banter.

Chris Cuomo has even returned the favor and remotely joined his brother’s daily briefings, which are conducted in the state capital of Albany.

Andrew Cuomo told Stern that he didn’t think the president wishes ill toward his brother.

Cuomo continued: ‘So I don't think that…I think part of it is genuine, personal feeling of anger and part of it is a little theater that goes with politics, especially the way it's happening now in Washington.’

The governor told Stern that Trump has attacked his brother ‘partially because of me and partially because of my brother’s reporting.’

Andrew Cuomo, whose daily briefings about the coronavirus has earned him nationwide praise, has had a complicated relationship with the president, who has been accused by his critics of failing to adequately address the pandemic.

One of those critics is Chris Cuomo, who ripped into Trump last week after the president called himself a ‘cheerleader for this country’ during the coronavirus pandemic.

CNN then cut back to Cuomo's basement as the host said exasperatedly: 'That's what leadership is! Anybody can tell people what they want to hear, and make it easy.

‘And then you know what you get? Exactly where we are right now.

'That was the most asinine statement of leadership I have ever heard.'

During his interview with Stern on Monday, Governor Cuomo praised Trump.

‘He has delivered for New York. He has,’ Cuomo said of Trump.

‘By and large it has worked.’

Cuomo complimented the president for deploying the USNS Comfort, the floating 1,000-bed hospital, to New York City to alleviate the local hospital system which is being stretched to the limit due to an onslaught of COVID-19 patients.

The federal government had the Army Corps of Engineers set up a 2,500-bed makeshift hospital inside the Jacob Javits Convention Center on Manhattan’s West Side.

Cuomo told Stern that he and Trump have a frank exchange.

‘I don't talk to Trump every single day, but I do talk to him when I need to talk to him, which is at least several times a week,’ the governor said.

‘There has been no governor in the nation who has fought Trump as much as I have.

‘And Trump has been nastier to me than he has been to any other governor.

‘And that is okay, we are both New Yorkers, we speak our mind and if we have to disagree we disagree. And disagreement is good in politics.

‘But during this, I said to him from the get-go, this is not about politics.

‘This is not about personalities. We have to be better than that for the jobs we do.

‘And I put my hand out in partnership to work with you and we'll call it straight.

‘If you do the right thing by New York, I will say it. If you don't, I will say it.

‘That is the plain truth in this situation.

‘Since then, Howard, he has been good in delivering for New York.’

Cuomo and other governors like Ohio’s Mike DeWine, Larry Hogan of Maryland, Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, California’s Gavin Newsom, and Phil Murphy of New Jersey have been perceived by many as the real leaders in the crisis while Trump has taken a back seat.

The New York governor also told Stern on Monday that he has cried during the current crisis.

‘I can't get over the death numbers every day. I can't. I can't rationalize it,’ the governor said.

‘I can say that New Yorkers were heroic, and the healthcare workers have been heroic and have done great work.

‘We saved every life that we could because the healthcare workers were great.

‘I can't get passed the death numbers. There's nothing that abates that pain.’

After his interview with Stern, the governor held his daily briefing in Albany where he announced that an additional 671 people across the state had died.

As of Monday mid-day, the statewide death toll from COVID-19 stood at 10,056.

The governor said that despite surpassing the grim 10,000-deaths milestone, there was reason for optimism.

‘I believe the worst is over if we continue to be smart,’ Cuomo said.

‘I believe we can start on the path to normalcy.’

I will decide when to re-open the country - and Javanka will help me: Donald Trump says HE is in charge of ending the shutdown as he unveils 'taskforce' with Ivanka, Jared and other White House aides and says governors will have to follow his lead

President Trump insisted that the call on when to reopen the country and the economy will be a 'decision by me' – as it was revealed his task force on the vital matter will include cabinet members, his daughter, and his son-in-law.

Trump hyped the decision on Twitter, after saying for days it would soon become time to 'reopen' the U.S. economy. 

Trump is setting up a new task force on reopening, with an announcement planned for Tuesday.

'A decision by me, in conjunction with the Governors and input from others, will be made shortly!'

The task force is expected to include Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared, who has taken a key coronavirus response role, fielding calls from hot-spots seeking protective gear and trying to line up deliveries.

Both Ivanka Trump and Kushner have appeared with the president at separate White House coronavirus event – Kushner at a White House briefing and Ivanka Trump at a small business meeting in the Roosevelt Room.

'A decision by me, in conjunction with the Governors and input from others, will be made shortly!' President Trump tweeted about the decision to reopen the country

The team will be headed by Trump's new chief of staff Mark Meadows, who previously headed the conservative House Freedom Caucus, Fox News reported.

Also serving with be Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao – who is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. 

Other cabinet members to serve include Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, White House advisers Larry Kudlow, Peter Navarro – who penned memos warning of the impact of the coronavirus, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, along with other officials.

Trump attacked the media and added confusion to how the decision to reopen would ultimately be made with a pair of tweets Monday.

'For the purpose of creating conflict and confusion, some in the Fake News Media are saying that it is the Governors decision to open up the states, not that of the President of the United States & the Federal Government,' Trump wrote.

'Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect...It is the decision of the President, and for many good reasons. With that being said, the Administration and I are working closely with the Governors, and this will continue. A decision by me, in conjunction with the Governors and input from others, will be made shortly!' he wrote.

It is state governors who issued the stay-at-home orders that took effect across the country. 

Trump and Vice President Mike Pence issued 'guidelines' but the administration and health officials have provided considerable discussion and feedback to state officials.

Trump has previously noted on shut-down orders that it is governors who have imposed them, and he deferred to a group of GOP governors, many in rural states, who held back from issuing stay-home orders during as the coronavirus spread.Cuomo, who has been in frequent communication with the White House, said he is contacting a regional group of governors to set criteria and plans for reopening.

Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner have advised him during the coronavirus pandemic

'I’m not interested in political opinions. I’m interested in what the experts say about this,' Cuomo said at his daily press briefing from Albany. 

'This is a time for smart, competent effective government. Nothing else matters,' he said.

'The optimum is to have as coordinated a regional plan as you can,' said Cuomo.

Trump had previously said he would like to get the country reopened by Easter, but then extended 15-day guidelines for an additional 30 days.

Government infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday the nation could have a 'rolling reentry.'