Republican New York gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino made a tasteless joke Tuesday about the missing Malaysian Airlines plane.
Astorino was accusing incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) of keeping his running mate Kathy Hochul out of the campaign spotlight when he made the gaffe, Lohud reports.
"Which will be found first: the Malaysian Airlines or Kathy Hochul on the campaign trail?” Astorino asked while speaking to reporters in Albany. “Legitimate question.”
“If Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul play it secret and safe for the next four months, that’s up to them, but it’s not fair to the people of this state,” he added.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared four months ago with 239 people on board. Extensive search efforts have failed to find the missing aircraft while family members are still holding onto hope for their loved ones' return.
Democratic state Senate candidate John Liu was outraged at Astorino's comments Tuesday.
"It's offensive and insensitive that Rob Astorino would stoop so low as to joke about the missing people on the Malaysian Airlines flight just to score a cheap political point," Liu said in a statement. "He ought to apologize to the families who are still distraught over the loss of their loved ones."
Astorino's campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Cuomo, meanwhile, has dismissed criticism that he's keeping Hochul off the campaign trail because of her conservative views on guns.
"How absurd a theory is that?" the governor said, according to The New York Post. "I select a person as my running mate that I don’t want people to know about?"
The latest poll has Cuomo leading Astorino by over 30 points.
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