Critics quickly reacted with a variety of remarks to the news on Tuesday night that CNN had indefinitely suspended star host Chris Cuomo over his alleged involvement in advising his brother, then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, in dealing with the public relations battle that the then-governor was facing over sexual misconduct allegations.
In a statement, CNN said:
The New York Attorney General’s office released transcripts and exhibits Monday that shed new light on Chris Cuomo’s involvement in his brother’s defense. The documents, which we were not privy to before their public release, raise serious questions. When Chris admitted to us that he had offered advice to his brother’s staff, he broke our rules and we acknowledged that publicly. But we also appreciated the unique position he was in and understood his need to put family first and job second. However, these documents point to a greater level of involvement in his brother’s efforts than we previously knew. As a result, we have suspended Chris indefinitely, pending further evaluation.
Notable responses to news included:
- David Harsanyi, National Review: “Chris Cuomo helped his brother cover up his role in the deaths of thousands of elderly NYers. And no one at CNN had a problem with it.”
- Jesse Kelly, political commentator: “REMINDER: Andrew Cuomo (and now Chris Cuomo) only went down because DEMOCRATS decided to take them down. They were clearing out the governor’s mansion for other New York Democrats. The GOP would never have enough spine to actually take out an opponent like that.” He continued, “Also, the biggest loser in the Cuomo suspension is Don Lemon . He’s so talentless that Cuomo had to stay over and do the A block of his show with him every night. That’s the most important block in TV. Poor Lemon needed Daddy to hold his hand. Now, he’s alone.”
- Joe Concha, The Hill: “Chris Cuomo suspended indefinitely. Hard to see how the 9pm anchor returns given the overwhelming evidence of journalistic malfeasance. And if asking who the replacement will be at 9p, I have my money on Acosta. He’s exactly what CNN has become in terms of partisan pious snark.”
- Steve Krakauer, political commentator: “While announcing Chris Cuomo’s indefinite suspension, Anderson Cooper was sitting next to … Jeffrey Toobin, who returned in June from an indefinite suspension.”
- Josh Dawsey, The Washington Post: “Fallout from Cuomo scandal has been wide: Chris Cuomo suspended at CNN. Alphonso David ousted as head of Human Rights Campaign. Tina Tchen out as CEO of Time’s Up, after Robbie Kaplan left board over it. Two other longtime Cuomo advisers out at Kivvit firm. And more…” He added, “As one longtime Cuomo person said to me last night: ‘It was such a dark and cynical place. I didn’t really realize that until I left.'”
- Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN): “Chris Cuomo is a political activist masquerading as a journalist. He should’ve been taken off air a long time ago. The Cuomo mafia family will stop at nothing to silence and intimidate those that seek to speak the truth.”
- Caleb Hull, political strategist: “Never forget that Chris Cuomo left his house while he knew he had COVID-19 and got into a fight with a cyclist. Then he made a spectacle of when he ‘came out of quarantine’ after two weeks like he never left. CNN never fired him for this.”
- Logan Hall, The Daily Caller: “cuomo suspension is small potatoes. call me when joy reid and the thousand other media goons worse than cuomo are unemployed.”
- Kim Bellware, The Washington Post: “This Cuomo stuff is just so wild for those of us who know we could literally be fired for a mild-sauce tweet.”
- Dan McLaughlin, National Review: “First Andrew, now Chris. Next: give the Tappan Zee Bridge its name back.”
- John Cardillo, political commentator: “Fredo finally got whacked.”
- Grant Addison, The Washington Examiner: “Do that water-carrying, pilgarlic hack Stelter next.”
- Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker: “Even if you think his personal behavior was bad, you have to admit that losing Cuomo is a blow to journalism that will take at least five seconds to recover from.”