CNN’s top-rated host, Chris Cuomo, may not be reporting on the revelations that his brother engaged in a prolonged pattern of sexual harassment against at least 11 women, but the show that follows “Cuomo Prime Time” aired a savage montage of video clips presenting the governor as a hypocrite who exploited the #MeToo movement for political purposes.
“The clock is ticking for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo,” said Don Lemon immediately after the hand-off from the governor’s brother at the 10 p.m. Eastern hour.
If anything, “Don Lemon Tonight” gave a more damning account of the sexual harassment on Wednesday than he did on Tuesday night.
“CNN’s KFile has uncovered multiple times that the governor spoke out against sexual harassment and attacked Republicans for not taking a stand,” Lemon said.
He then played a video clip of the governor highlighting unconfirmed, decades-old accusations of sexual harassment made against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
“We want equal justice for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and for all victims of sexual assault,” the governor told the Global Citizen Festival on September 29, 2018.
Lemon went on to note the governor’s harsh critique of offensive remarks made by the former president in an undercover recording, which came out days before the 2016 election.
“When Donald Trump’s infamous Access Hollywood tape came out, the governor was outraged,” Lemon said. He then played video of Governor Cuomo speaking to NY1 on October 8, 2016.
“That’s not how you treat women. That’s not how you talk about women,” the governor said. “It’s not O.K. It won’t be sanctioned.”
Lemon proceeded to list a number of Cuomo’s statements condemning sexual harassment, sometimes using the issue to attack his political opponents.
“In a Facebook post in 2018, he slammed the then-president for mocking the #MeToo movement and women who spoke out against sexual harassment,” Lemon continued. “He praised New York’s sexual harassment policy saying, ‘sexual harassment or women is real. It is undeniable. And this is the moment in history to make the reform and end it and end it once and for all.’”
“New York is going to be the state to do it.” Cuomo’s remarks, which appeared in a June 2018 Politico story praising the governor’s sexual harassment policy, continue. “It ends here, and it ends now.”
Politico went on to say that Cuomo’s 2018 gubernatorial election “opponents say he hasn’t done enough to change Albany’s patriarchal culture and hasn’t been aggressive enough in cutting ties with known harassers.”
His Democratic primary opponent, actress Cynthia Nixon, and Republican candidate Marc Molinaro “seized on a federal complaint filed last Tuesday against Jay Kiyonaga, who has held several posts in various state agencies before he was fired Wednesday … for harassing female coworkers,” reported Politico at the time.
The original KFile story by Em Steck, Andrew Kaczynski, and Drew Myers noted several other embarrassing comments by Governor Andrew Cuomo.
The “Andrew Cuomo for Governor” Facebook page paid for a total of six ads crediting himself for enacting the “strongest sexual harassment policy in the nation.” All six ads ran on June 1, 2018, according to Facebook data.
“In May 2013, the governor called for the resignation of New York Assemblyman Vito Lopez, who allegedly sexually harassed several female staff members, and for the politician’s expulsion if Lopez refused to resign,” the story noted.
Five years later, when four women accused New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman of sexual and physical abuse, Andrew Cuomo issued a press release calling on Schneiderman to resign.
“No one is above the law, including New York’s top legal officer,” Cuomo’s statement said. “My personal opinion is that, given the damning pattern of facts and corroboration laid out in the article, I do not believe it is possible for Eric Schneiderman to continue to serve as Attorney General, and for the good of the office, he should resign.”
Schneiderman resigned one day later. Media coverage at the time largely omitted Schneiderman’s political affiliation with the Democratic Party.
Lemon, to his credit, noted that Cuomo faces steep opposition within his own party. He went on to interview Jay Jacobs, the chair of the New York State Democratic Committee and a Cuomo ally, who has asked the governor to resign.
“The attorney general’s report made it very clear what the allegations were” and that they “were valid,” he said. AG Letitia James “believed those women. And when you read the report, I do, too.”
While Lemon devoted more than 13 minutes to the story, and “Anderson Cooper 360” devoted a brief segment to the Andrew Cuomo sexual harassment scandal, “Cuomo Prime Time” focused on COVID-19 and concluded with an interview of “America’s Got Talent” singer Nightbirde.
CNN has yet to issue a public statement about the younger Cuomo, who received confidential information while advising his brother on how to survive the political storm unleashed by the avalanche of credible sexual harassment allegations that range from verbal to physical.
Andrew Cuomo also faces an investigation over admissions that his administration covered up the number of COVID-19 deaths caused by the governor’s nursing home order.
Related: Chris Cuomo Ignores Brother’s Controversy – And His Own. Then Don Lemon Attacks the Gov.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.