Chris Cuomo ripped for claiming DeSantis is holding US ‘hostage’ to Covid after CNN host broke quarantine while sick
CHRIS Cuomo has been ripped apart by critics after he claimed Ron DeSantis was holding the US “hostage” to Covid after the CNN anchor broke quarantine rules while sick.
DeSantis, the Republican Governor of Florida, 42, signed an executive order Friday making mask-wearing optional in the state’s public schools.
His order followed in the wake of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest guidance for K-12 schools recommending universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff and pupils, irrespective of whether or not they have received the Covid-19 vaccine.
Cuomo suggested DeSantis’ actions were holding the US back from beating the pandemic.
"The question becomes as a policy perspective, is how long do you allow the majority of this country, Republicans, Democrats, independents, south, north, the majority of every group and demographic we have, have gotten vaccinated, how long do you allow them to be held hostage in states, let's say, like Florida, where you have the governor saying, 'yeah, I know it's breaking out, I'm going the other way, don't Fauci my Florida, no mask mandates, I'll let the parents decide,'" Cuomo asked on Cuomo Prime Time during his interview with Adm. Brett Giroir Friday night. "Where is that messaging going to get you?"
Karol Markowicz, a New York Post columnist, said considering Cuomo broke quarantine last year, the CNN anchor is not the best authority to be taking pot shots at the Florida Governor.
Cuomo infamously emerged from his basement on CNN last April, saying it was his “official re-entry” to the world after getting Covid.
He later admitted though he had been involved in an altercation outside his second property, the one in which he had not been quarantining.
"Chris Cuomo broke quarantine while actually sick with Covid, not caring who else he infected," Markowicz said in a statement to Fox News.
Markowicz added the CNN anchor’s brother, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, has overseen an apparently worse Covid outbreak when comparing state populations.
"His brother’s state has two million fewer people than Florida but 15,000 more Covid deaths all while NY kept schools closed and small businesses crumbled."
Perhaps the Cuomos should take a break from telling the rest of us how we should be handling Covid
New York Post columnist Karol Markowicz
"Perhaps the Cuomos should take a break from telling the rest of us how we should be handling Covid," she added.
Fox News contributor Joe Concha backed Markowicz’s comments saying Cuomo should “recuse himself” from criticizing DeSantis’ leadership not only because he broke Covid regulations but also because of reports the governor and his family benefitted by gaining early access to Covid testing before other New Yorkers.
"Chris Cuomo should recuse himself from commenting on any other governor’s actions as it pertains to Covid," Concha said in a statement to Fox News. "This is the same guy who got testing before anyone in New York could in the early stage of the pandemic, thanks to his brother. The same guy who broke his own quarantine while he was shedding the virus. A police report was even filed against him after a verbal confrontation with a man in his sixties."
Concha also noted the string of sexual harassment allegations made against the New York Governor. Cuomo has said he apologized if he had made anyone feel “uncomfortable,” but denied any wrongdoing.
"And Ron DeSantis hasn’t been accused of sexual harassment by multiple staffers, as Gov. Cuomo has. Chris Cuomo proceeded to advise him on how to beat those allegations, proving he’s not an anchor, but an activist," Concha added. "Take his opinion with a fraction of a grain of salt."
It's not the first time Cuomo has taken aim at DeSantis. Last July he publicly questioned why then-Vice President Mike Pence had praised DeSantis and accused the governor of having "mishandled" the pandemic.
DeSantis’ executive order comes as Florida reported 21,683 new cases of Covid-19, the state’s highest one-day total since the start of the pandemic, according to federal health data released Saturday.
The state has become the new national epicenter for the virus, accounting for around a fifth of all new cases in the US as the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus continues to spread.
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The figures show how quickly the number of cases is rising in the Sunshine State: only a day earlier, Florida reported 17,093 new daily cases.
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The previous peak in Florida had been 19,334 cases reported on January 7, before the availability of vaccinations became widespread.
DeSantis has blamed the surge on a seasonal increase - more Floridians are indoors because of the hot weather with air conditioning circulating the virus.
