How Andrew Cuomo went from Covid ‘hero’ to nursing home ‘killer while harassing women’ then cried ‘crocodile tears’
HE bagged an Emmy, an army of "Cuomosexual" fans, and was lauded by stars including Robert DeNiro, Ellen DeGeneres, and Trevor Noah for his handling of the Covid crisis in New York.
But Andrew Cuomo's spectacular fall from grace was complete this week when the Democrat was forced to resign from his role as Governor of the Empire State.
He finally stepped aside on Tuesday after New York’s Attorney General Letitia James released the results of an investigation that found Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women.
The writing had been on the wall for Cuomo as soon as he was accused of harassment, first by Lindsey Boylan last December and then by at least 10 others.
One, former aide Brittany Commisso, 32, said he reached under her blouse and molested her while they were at the Executive Mansion in Albany.
Shortly after allegations of harassment first broke, Cuomo was then forced to face accusations his administration had concealed thousands of COVID-19 deaths among nursing home patients.
And questions were already being asked about his $5 million book deal, written in the middle of the pandemic, which focused on leadership in a crisis.
There was also evidence his friends and relatives were given special access to COVID-19 tests early on.
AN AMERICAN DYNASTY
The 63-year-old Democrat, once touted as a potential presidential candidate, has denied intentionally mistreating women.
He called the pressure for his ouster politically motivated.
PROGRESSIVE?
Since taking office in 2011, he helped push through legislation that legalized gay marriage, began lifting the minimum wage to $15, and expanded paid family leave benefits.
The self-proclaimed “progressive Democrat” also publicly championed the #MeToo movement and surrounded himself with women’s rights activists.
He signed into law sweeping new protections against sexual harassment and lengthened the statute of limitations in rape cases.
For many Cuomo had provided a steady hand during the turbulent months of the pandemic and was widely hailed nationally for his detailed daily briefings and leadership during some of the darkest days of the COVID-19 crisis.
In his daily briefings, Cuomo’s tough-minded but compassionate rhetoric made for riveting television well beyond New York, as he warned people to stay home and wear masks while Trump often brushed off the virus.
That sparked memes and even merchandise.
But by Wednesday that merch had been pulled from online sites.
And his Covid accomplishments were soon tainted when it emerged that the state’s official count of nursing home deaths had excluded many victims who had been transferred to hospitals before they succumbed.
BULLYING CLAIMS
A Cuomo aide acknowledged the administration feared the true numbers would be “used against us” by the Trump White House.
His administration was fiercely criticized for forcing nursing homes to accept patients recovering from the virus.
Then came the accusations of bullying within his team.
Investigators noted that the governor’s staff retaliated against accuser Boylan by leaking confidential personnel files about her.
The third-term governor was also been accused of running a brutal work environment.
His top aide Melissa DeRosa was forced to quit just two days before her boss amid reports of her own "mean girls" reputation.
TELEVISED ADDRESS
By Tuesday Cuomo appeared on the verge of tears as he announced his resignation.
But even that performance was accused of being false by University of Connecticut professor Sherry Pagoto.
She tweeted: "Cuomo choking on crocodile tears says he hopes his daughters who he refers to as inanimate objects don't suffer the sexism that generations of women before them did.
"Literally as he's resigning for being a serial sexist groper."
Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, a 62-year-old Democrat and former member of Congress from the Buffalo area, will now become the state’s 57th governor and the first woman to hold the post.
CRIMINAL CHARGES?
Cuomo still faces the possibility of criminal charges, with a number of prosecutors around the state continuing to investigate him. At least one of his accusers has filed a criminal complaint.
The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the state’s handling of data on nursing home deaths.
In addition, the state attorney general is looking into whether Cuomo broke the law in using members of his staff to help write and promote his book, from which he stood to make more than $5 million.
During his televised address on Tuesday Cuomo directly addressed his daughters.
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"Your dad made mistakes. And he apologized. And he learned from it," he said.
"And that’s what life is all about."