Last year as Democrats struggled to find a candidate to take on Donald Trump and Joe Biden struggled to stand out from the pack, many observers were promoting the Democratic governor of New State. York.
As his condition was severely affected by the pandemic, Cuomo regularly faced the press, answering questions firmly while showing empathy. Many saw it as the leader who made up for the lack of leadership from the White House.
To Quebecois friends who asked me about a late nomination for the governor, I replied that Andrew Cuomo had already assessed his potential and that he had preferred to abstain. Why? Loud mouth and a bit macho, the governor is not a newcomer on the political scene and there are some skeletons in his closet. We know the man and his abrasive style.
After having embodied the quintessential anti-Trump, Andrew Cuomo could now face the same ordeal he has publicly vilified on numerous occasions. He too may escape the affront of an impeachment process, but his chances of re-election in 2022 are likely to be seriously shaken. He is aiming for a fourth term in a state that does not impose limits on the number of re-elections.
What do we blame Andrew Cuomo for? His Republican opponents, but also Democratic allies, are reacting vigorously to the fact that a member of his administration has admitted that the number of deaths in retirement homes has been reduced. We would therefore have manipulated the data.
After attacking Donald Trump’s administration for his denial of scientific data, the governor would therefore have tried to restore his image by hiding facts. Trumpian behavior and political recovery from the health crisis.
I would point out in passing that Andrew Cuomo’s brother is CNN’s star host, Chris Cuomo. The latter reserved many segments of his show for discussions with his eldest, whom he was promoting during exchanges that I considered particularly embarrassing. Moreover, the host is now being criticized for ignoring the coverage of his brother’s setbacks.
The governor of New York is therefore going through a storm and he will have a lot to do to fix the mess. His popularity has dropped ten points since the end of January, leaving him little room for maneuver.
Since Democrats control both houses of state congress, I would be surprised if Cuomo were accused in impeachment proceedings. Its adversaries will not fail to exploit this crisis, however, and its allies can hardly come to its aid vigorously in such a context.
For the moment, Cuomo has denied an attempt to conceal the data, even though he admits that he was slow to transmit it. How to explain this delay then? An overload of work for his staff and for him. As his team could not produce all the data in real time to journalists, the latter filled the media vacuum by expressing their doubts, hence the controversy.
Andrew Cuomo will survive this crisis, but it shows that the Cuomo way is not flawless. This is not the first time that we have criticized its approach and its management. Governor of a deeply democratic state, he has never had an overwhelming majority. The turmoil he is going through is an additional indicator to explain that he did not embark on a presidential campaign. His file is not without spots and it polarizes.