On Tuesday night, CNN political commentator Chris Cillizza delightedly tweeted that he had gotten two packages of COVID-19 tests as a “post-Christmas gift to myself.”
Post-Christmas gift to myself pic.twitter.com/BiDmAu6sCI
— Chris Cillizza (@ChrisCillizza) December 29, 2021
That triggered Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean, whose distaste for CNN personalities had already been evidenced by her harsh criticism of former CNN host Chris Cuomo, to fire back, “People are fighting on streets of New York to get these tests but this guy shows off. Gross.”
People are fighting on streets of New York to get these tests but this guy shows off. Gross. https://t.co/KxHPG72QNE
— Janice Dean (@JaniceDean) December 29, 2021
“It reminds me of Andrew Cuomo giving out VIP (and very rare) Covid tests to his friends and family (who also worked at CNN) while prohibiting nursing homes to test Covid patients. It’s unbelievably awful,” she snapped.
It reminds me of Andrew Cuomo giving out VIP (and very rare) Covid tests to his friends and family (who also worked at CNN) while prohibiting nursing homes to test Covid patients. It’s unbelievably awful.
— Janice Dean (@JaniceDean) December 29, 2021
To complete the trifecta, Dean ironically pointed out a CNN story from December 23 showing New Yorkers lined up in the cold to try to obtain COVID-19 tests.
From @cnn https://t.co/u1H2he448D
— Janice Dean (@JaniceDean) December 29, 2021
In their story, CNN stated, “Long lines were seen this week in New York City, Boston and Miami, as well as Ohio and Minnesota. At the same time, CVS Health and Walgreens — the two largest pharmaceutical chain stores in the US — are limiting the number of at-home Covid kits customers can buy due to significant demand, they announced.”
The Daily Wire reported on December 10:
Fox News’ Janice Dean scared ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York and his recently unemployed brother Chris so badly because of her work in exposing the New York governor’s mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis that the two allegedly plotted together with the help of Andrew’s aide to “discredit” the Fox News weather anchor, according to CNBC.
On Friday, CNBC reported that according to sources who wished to remain anonymous, the governor’s aide Melissa DeRosa was instructed to work with Chris to smear Dean as nothing more than a “right-wing commentator,” but it’s unclear whether or not they actually did.
CNBC wrote:
Melissa DeRosa, who had served as secretary to the governor, was among the Cuomo aides who ripped Dean behind the scenes and sought to craft a public messaging strategy that would paint the Fox News personality as merely a right-wing commentator, people familiar with the effort told CNBC. Dean’s criticism of Cuomo stemmed mainly from the 2020 deaths of her husband’s parents, whom she said died of Covid in their elder-care facilities.
It remains unclear if DeRosa or Cuomo’s team ever went ahead with initiating such a plan. Andrew Cuomo himself was present during some of the strategy sessions during which Dean was mentioned, one of the people said. These sessions mainly focused on the governor’s response to Covid.
In September, Dean blasted Chris Cuomo after revelations surfaced that he had sexually harassed a former boss, Shelly Ross, in 2005. She first cited Ross’s article in The New York Times in which she spoke of the harassment, saying, “This is a very powerful opinion piece. I commend Shelly Ross for having the courage to write it.” Then she continued, “I’m not as hopeful that Chris Cuomo will change, though. He advised his brother about his sexual harassment accusations and his employer allowed it. I also think this is a pattern of behavior, and I hope if he’s done this to other women (which I’ve heard he has) they now have the courage to come forward.”