Gov. Andrew Cuomo called a statement he made earlier this week an “inartful” turn of phrase, before slamming President Donald Trump on a Friday conference call with reporters.

First, the statement:

“Of course America is great and of course America has always been great. As you know, my family is evidence of American greatness,” said Cuomo, D-New York, on the latest call, while referencing his family’s immigrant roots.

The call was held ostensibly to discuss storm conditions in parts of upstate New York, but since Cuomo's Wednesday statement, the president tweeted two more times about the comments, then the fellow New Yorker derided the state’s high-tax reputation.

For his part, Cuomo said he believes he has to stand up to Trump, while reiterating that he has “no plans to run for president.”

The campaign of gubernatorial challenger Cynthia Nixon expressed skepticism about that, with Nixon's senior advisor chastising Cuomo for not backing up his words and the context they were made.

“Instead of being a leader who stands up to Donald Trump, Andrew Cuomo backed down after a few insults from him today, and folded like a cheap suit. It turns out Andrew Cuomo’s tough talk was just that,” said Rebecca Katz.

Read more on the New York State of Politics blog.