Casting himself as a key figure opposing President Trump, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Andrew Cuomo44 percent of high earners have considered leaving New York City: poll Media's anti-Trump coronavirus spin has real consequences In defense of Trump's efforts to quell pandemic panic MORE invoked the name of Trump's immigrant grandfather in a Tuesday speech at Ellis Island.

"This is the harbor where Fredrick Trump arrived from Germany, and whose grandson would become President of the United States," Cuomo said at his third inaugural address, rattling off a list of dignitaries whose parents and grandparents came through the island, including Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Vice President Pence.

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"This is not a faded memory of yesterday, but rather a shining beacon of tomorrow," Cuomo said of Ellis Island, which served as one of the main ports of entry for immigrants in the 20th century. "Never forget where you came from, and never forget or deny this place," he said.

In his speech, Cuomo compared America in the Trump era to the Great Depression, casting New York as a bastion of tolerance and progress.

"As our nation once confronted a great economic depression, we now confront a great social depression,” he said. “People’s frustration turning to fear and the fear turning to anger and the anger turning to division. It is impossible to overstate how dangerous, how malignant this condition is. It is a cancer that is spreading throughout our society," he continued.

New York, he noted, was the birthplace of the women's suffrage movement, the gay rights movement and key advances in the labor movement.

Cuomo's inaugural address follows shortly after he won a third term in office in November's midterm elections. The governor ruled out a 2020 presidential run later that month, saying he would support candidates that could win the support of the working class back from Trump.