CNN anchor Chris Cuomo finally addressed his brother's resignation on Monday while defending his own conduct. The anchor admitted that he urged his brother to resign.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation following credible allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment by 11 women brought by Attorney General Letitia James' office.
"The situation is unlike anything I could have imagined," Cuomo said on air. "And yet, I know what matters at work and at home. Everyone knows you support your family. I know and appreciate that you get that, but you should also know I never covered my brother's troubles because I obviously have a conflict and there are rules at CNN about that."
"I said last year that his appearances on this show would be short-lived and they were. The last was over a year ago, long before any kind of scandal," Cuomo tried to assure viewers.
CNN lifted a rule that barred Cuomo from interviewing his governor brother when the governor received positive press in the early months of the pandemic, according to Fox News. The network reinstated the rule when the governor's scandals went public.
Their last interview took place on June 24, 2020, though Cuomo's nursing home scandal surfaced the month before.
Andrew signed an executive order in March 2020 forcing nursing homes to accept COVID-positive patients that he rescinded six weeks later. His administration was then accused of undercounting COVID deaths in state-run assisted-living facilities throughout the state. 15,000 additional deaths of the elderly are potentially tied to the directive.
In that last interview Cuomo asked Governor Cuomo about the nursing home scandal controversy with a single softball question.
"Nursing homes. People died there, they didn't have to, it was mismanaged and the operators have been given immunity. What do you have to say about that?" asked Cuomo.
His brother replied: "Several statements that are not correct, but that's ok. It's your show, you say whatever you want to say." The governor dismissed the scandal outright.
Moments later, the CNN anchor declared his brother to be "the best politician in the country."
Cuomo said he is not an adviser, but a brother to the governor. However, New York Attorney General Letitia James' report found that the CNN pundit actively worked to shield his brother from the ongoing political firestorm.
He failed to tell his viewers that he helped draft a statement for his brother. He was also one of the "few advisers" that Andrew spoke with before his resignation.
Cuomo said the "advice" he gave to his brother amid the scandal was to "Own what you did" and "tell people what you'll do to be better." He also told the governor to "accept that it doesn't matter what you intended, what matters is how your actions and words were perceived."
Cuomo insisted to viewers, "I never misled anyone about the information I was delivering or not delivering on this program." He admitted that he purposefully did not cover his brother's political woes.
In the four days leading up to the anchor's vacation, Fox News reported that Cuomo spent 51 minutes attacking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over his opposition to COVID mandates while spending no time on the Attorney General's report about his brother.
Cuomo's show received a slight rating bump in early August following the release of a scathing report on the governor's sexual misconduct. However, he did not address the controversy on air. He garnered 930,000 viewers during "Cuomo Prime Time," which averaged 872,000 viewers last week as the network's highest-rated show.
He told viewers, "I never attacked nor encouraged anyone to attack any woman who came forward." That statement sidesteps an allegation that he urged his brother to blame "cancel culture" to rebuke the accusers. The governor invoked cancel culture in remarks he made to reporters in March.
Among the many ongoing investigations swirling around Governor Cuomo is the pending release of his brother's testimony to James' office, which could further complicate his role with CNN. It would also be difficult for him to ignore future headlines involving his brother, including potential criminal charges that may arise from his various scandals.
Join and support independent free thinkers!
We’re independent and can’t be cancelled. The establishment media is increasingly dedicated to divisive cancel culture, corporate wokeism, and political correctness, all while covering up corruption from the corridors of power. The need for fact-based journalism and thoughtful analysis has never been greater. When you support The Post Millennial, you support freedom of the press at a time when it's under direct attack. Join the ranks of independent, free thinkers by supporting us today for as little as $1.
Remind me next month
To find out what personal data we collect and how we use it, please visit our Privacy Policy
