President Donald Trump took to Twitter to deride the Democratic governor of his home state for having "a total meltdown" after the latter said at an event that America "was never that great."

"Can you believe this is the Governor of the Highest Taxed State in the U.S., Andrew Cuomo, having a total meltdown!" Trump said on Twitter on Wednesday evening. Cuomo is often floated as a potential Democratic challenger to Trump's re-election campaign in 2020.

Trump on Twitter: "WE'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, IT WAS NEVER THAT GREAT." Can you believe this is the Governor of the Highest Taxed State in the U.S., Andrew Cuomo, having a total meltdown!

At a bill signing earlier in the day, Cuomo, the governor of New York, appeared to be giving his take on the president's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again."

"We are not going to make America great again. It was never that great," he said. There was a mix of gasping and cheering from the audience following that comment, as seen in video recordings of Cuomo's speech.

"We have not reached greatness. We will reach greatness when every American is fully engaged. We will reach greatness when discrimination and stereotyping against women — 51 percent of our population — is gone and every woman's full potential is realized and unleashed," said Cuomo, a Democrat seeking re-election for his third term.

The governor's office did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment on the criticism from the president.

Cuomo's Republican challenger in this year's gubernatorial race, Marc Molinaro, also issued a statement to counter Cuomo.

"America, with its imperfections, has always been great," Molinaro said in a statement posted on Twitter. "Mr. Cuomo owes the nation an apology. He should be ashamed of himself."

Molinaro on Twitter: America, with its imperfections, has always been great.