CNN anchor Chris Cuomo turned a blind eye on Thursday night when he covered the growing political scandal that ensnared his brother, Democratic New York governor Andrew Cuomo.
One of the biggest news stories of the day came from a report released by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The report revealed that the state Department of Health may have underreported deaths from COVID-19 in nursing homes by up to 50%.
Cuomo is famous for running nursing homes in the Empire State to accept patients who had or were suspected of having COVID-19. The decision was blamed for creating a violent attack of COVID-19 cases that infected thousands of elderly patients and resulted in hundreds of deaths among the state’s most vulnerable population. The governor eventually reversed the decision, but not before thousands died of COVID-19 in New York’s nursing homes.
FLASHBACK: THE MEDIA DISCOVERED THE ‘LEADERSHIP’ OF CUOMO DURING COVID AS NY NURSING HOME SCANDAL DONE
Although the controversy started last spring, much of the mainstream media not only offered minimal coverage to zero of Cuomo’s ill-fated policy, the governor was widely praised for his “leadership” in responding to the pandemic.
The Democratic governor became a frequent guest at “Cuomo Prime Time”, where he and his brother host CNN teased each other in physical appearances and fought over their mother’s affection.
Rather than pressuring his brother with tough questions about his nursing home policy, the CNN anchor got involved in an advertising comedy using giant cotton swabs to mock the size of his brother’s nose after a COVID nasal test.
However, after months of avoiding the subject and nearly a dozen individual appearances on his show, Cuomo finally threw a softball at his brother.
FLASHBACK: CHRIS CUOMO OF CNN SPOKE WITH BROTHER, DIDN’T ASK THE GOVERNOR ABOUT THE DEATHS IN NY NURSING HOUSE
“Nursing homes. People died there, there was no need, it was poorly administered and operators were given immunity. What do you have to say about that?” asked the CNN anchor.
“Several statements that are not correct, but that’s okay. It’s your show, you say what you want,” Governor Cuomo reacted playfully before shirking any responsibility.
During the same interview, CNN’s Cuomo admitted to viewers “Of course, I’m not objective” in expressing his love for his brother.
“I hope you can appreciate what you have done in your state and what it means for the rest of the country now. I am impressed with what you have done and, most importantly, I am impressed with how you have done it.” Chris Cuomo told the governor.
While other CNN anchors drew attention to the Cuomo scandal, CNN general editor Chris Cillizza appeared to have no self-awareness of his “analysis”, declaring on Twitter that “Andrew Cuomo Covid-19’s story was a great success today “and that governor’s” performance “may have been less stellar than it looked”.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION
“If Donald Trump was seen as the public face of the government’s failed response to the coronavirus pandemic, Andrew Cuomo was seen by some as the opposite – a politician who understood the myriad of challenges created by Covid-19 and acted quickly to address them in the most transparent way possible … Well, it turns out that all the hype has obscured a worrying reality, “wrote Cillizza. “We don’t know much yet. But here’s something we do know: [NY AG] James’ report was confirmed, it would cause a serious review of Cuomo’s performance during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. “
Cillizza’s analysis was criticized on social media, with critics pointing out that Cuomo’s nursing home policy had been reported months ago and how media like CNN chose to ignore it.