DiBlasio Slams Cuomo On Sexual Misconduct
Are we watching the denouement of an Empire State feud?
Since the release of state Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation — and President Biden's subsequent call for his resignation — it's been open season on New York Gov Andrew Cuomo.
Considering that the James investigation found that Cuomo violated state and federal laws in his sexual harassment of nearly a dozen women, that's entirely warranted.
But for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, it's personal.
And as Hizzoner, the mayor of the Big Apple, unloads on Cuomo, we may be witnessing the finale of one of the great political feuds in Empire State history.
Asked in an on-air interview if Cuomo ought to be charged criminally for his wrongdoing, de Blasio barely skipped a beat: “Yeah. If you assault a woman, if you do something against her will sexually, that’s criminal. And the Albany County district attorney is looking at that. And I think he should be charged.”
Nor, de Blasio added, could you chalk Cuomo's misdeeds up to some sort of generational misunderstanding: “Putting your hand up a woman’s shirt and touching their breast is not generational. I know plenty of guys who are older who would never in a million years do that. Talking to 20 something-year-old women asking if they'd date an older guy and then leering at them. This is not acceptable behavior. It's not even close.”
Cuomo's and de Blasio's is a long and complex relationship, which began decades ago as friendly colleagues with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Affairs (HUD), when Cuomo led the agency during the Clinton administration and de Blasio was overseeing HUD’s New York operation, reporting directly to Cuomo.
Their association became privately caustic after de Blasio was elected mayor in 2014, but the hostility really went public last year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
De Blasio announced that public schools would remain closed through the school year to contain the spread of the coronavirus. But less than three hours after that April 11, 2020, proclamation, Cuomo shot it down, calling it a mere “opinion” and leaving the possibility open that somehow schools would reopen.
And Cuomo has made a habit of trashing de Blasio in the press.
Needless to say, there's been no love lost between these two New York Democrats.
And de Blasio unloading on his nemesis may well serve as the final chapter in the pair's mutual vendetta.
It's very likely that Cuomo soon finds himself impeached and removed from office as a result of his wrongdoing. And if somehow the embattled governor survives that process, it's almost a foregone conclusion that he can't be reelected and his political career ends here.
And de Blasio is term-limited and will soon be replaced at the head of New York.
So de Blasio's personal spite was entirely manifest when, later Wednesday, back at City Hall like a self-satisfied cat, de Blasio couldn't let his wounded prey go. He circled back to the topic of the governor's misconduct — specifically, to the bizarre video montage Cuomo played in which he defended himself by saying that he shares warm gestures with everyone.
“I want to state again, him trying to put out some video, slick video to say it’s culturally okay to harass and assault women, that’s ridiculous, and it was an embarrassment,” de Blasio said. “And it’s not okay. It never was okay. It wasn’t okay 50 years ago, it wasn’t okay 100 years ago. So stop with this attempt to say culturally somehow he's you know, allowed to do what did know. No! It’s not acceptable.
“He needs to resign. Let’s get this over with, because the entire state has spoken now,” de Blasio added, nearly palpably enjoying the schadenfreude. “The people have spoken. The leaders have spoken. It’s time to go.”
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