Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was the one who ordered COVID patients into nursing homes killing thousands, and it was he who allegedly put his hands on multiple women and sexually harassed more. But according to NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, it was former President Trump's fault that Cuomo was refusing to resign as pressure mounted and more allegations came out.
As he began the final topic the mostly liberal panel would discuss during the program, NBC political director and moderator Chuck Todd looked to longtime MSNBC commentator John Heilemann as he huffed about Cuomo essentially forcing President Biden to say something:
Basically, the only prominent Democrats not calling for his resignation outside the state of New York, I guess, at this point is the president and the vice president. I don't know how Cuomo hangs on other than that doesn’t mean he still won’t try to hang on. How does this end?
Heilemann first touted the media for looking into the allegations and scandals (months late) but then asserted it was all Trump’s fault that Cuomo was refusing to step down.
“I think, you know, that the other thing that's true is Cuomo is totally dug in. I think the likelihood of Cuomo resigning is close to zero. And I think, you know, he is following right now – uncomfortably for a lot of Democrats – he’s following what is seen now as the Trump precedent,” he suggested. “You know, if you are determined enough, you are shameless enough, you can hold on.”
But what about Democratic Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, who refused to resign after a yearbook photo surfaced of him wearing either blackface for a Klan hood? Then there's the fact the liberal media inflated his ego for months by praising him as the real president during the pandemic. But blaming Trump was an excuse the rest of the panel would gravitate to as Todd thanked Heilemann for being the one to tie him to Cuomo’s actions.
Todd then addressed conservative Lanhee Chen of the Hoover Institute and read some words from the never-Trump Bulwark attacking people on the right who were going after Cuomo. “There’s a lot of conservative media, acolytes, and propagandists that are very excited about Cuomo’s downfall, but they seem to not be very self-reflective,” Todd sneered.
Chen initially agreed with the premise, but turned it around to take a shot at New York for being a state controlled largely by one party. He pointed out how it created the perfect conditions for Cuomo’s corruption to flourish, like Governor Gavin Newsom (D) and California (Click “expand”):
But I think Chuck, it speaks to a bigger problem we have in many states in this country which is what happens when you have one party in charge for too long, it creates a toxic environment. An environment that lacks accountability. You see it in New York. By the way, it’s the same sort of factors that are fueling the potential recall of Gavin Newsom here in California.
It’s what happens when you don't have people standing up and saying, “this is going wrong” and standing up earlier being willing to talk about, for example, the culture of toxicity we see in Cuomo and in other states.
To keep the focus on Trump, Todd looked to Voto Latino CEO Maria Teresa Kumar to comment on how neither the Governor nor the former President were susceptible to feeling shame. “I think that what John was saying was absolutely on the nose, that Trump basically moved the goalpost of what is proper and what isn’t,” Kumar said.
Kumar also proved she didn’t have a clue about the issue when she opined on how the only way New York could get rid of Cuomo was with a “massive recall” election effort at this point. In reality, New York’s constitution didn’t have a recall provision for governor; they used impeachments to remove them from office. And the state Assembly had already opened an impeachment investigation.
Nearing the end of the program, Todd went back to Heilemann one more time to again make the Trump connection and claim the Governor was trying to reach out to conservatives for support (Click “expand”):
TODD: I also wonder, John Heilemann, when Andrew Cuomo used the phrase “cancel culture,” I thought: “Oh really? Now you’re going to use a Fox talking point to defend yourself? And you’re going to think Democrats are going to stick by you?” It seemed like to be a really poor choice of words.
HEILEMANN: Well, yeah Chuck. I mean, again it’s another part – another page from the Trump playbook. And I think it’s also – But it’s cognizant I think in Andrew's mind – the Governor’s mind that New York is a Democratic state, but there’s lots – big chunks of New York that's not – that are not as liberal as people assume New York is.
And in his last words of the show, Todd revealed a disturbing sign that Cuomo felt entitled to the office: “Well, it was amazing to read today that he has no place to go, no place to live. He has no apartment. He has no house. He only has the governor's mansion.”
This blame-shifting against former President Trump was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from a political ad for new internet regulations from Facebook, and a normal ad from Google. Their contact information is linked so you can tell them about the biased news they fund.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
NBC’s Meet the Press
March 14, 2021
11:22:20 a.m. EasternCHUCK TODD: Welcome back, panel is back and the number of Democrats calling for Andrew Cuomo's resignation only grows in New York. John Heilemann, Schumer and Gillibrand the latest. Basically, the only prominent Democrats not calling for his resignation outside the state of New York, I guess, at this point is the president and the vice president. I don't know how Cuomo hangs on other than that doesn’t mean he still won’t try to hang on. How does this end?
JOHN HEILEMANN: Oh, Chuck. Well, I think there are a lot of things in play here. One of them is, what else if out there? And every major news organization that I know of right now has a team of people trying to push this story further. And there are a lot of hot leads out there. Let’s put it that way.
I think, you know, that the other thing that's true is Cuomo is totally dug in. I think the likelihood of Cuomo resigning is close to zero. And I think, you know, he is following right now – uncomfortably for a lot of Democrats – he’s following what is seen now as the Trump precedent. You know, if you are determined enough, you are shameless enough, you can hold on.
And so the question then just becomes: does he actually get impeached, does he actually get thrown out? And I think that’s going to be – a large question around that is going to be what additional evidence comes out over the coming – maybe enough now, but there’s going to be a lot of questions of what else unfolds over the next couple weeks.
TODD: It does feel like he’s forcing that. I’m glad you brought up Trump there a minute, John. Lanhee, I want you to respond on something Tim Miller wrote in The Bulwark. He said, "Dunking on Cuomo's demise requires admitting that the other party has standards and lays bare, once again, the cravenness of the excuse making for Trump that kept the lights on for the past five years."
There’s a lot of conservative media, acolytes, and propagandists that are very excited about Cuomo’s downfall, but they seem to not be very self-reflective.
LANHEE CHEN: Yeah, look, I think you have to call out bad behavior regardless of whether it’s perpetrated by a Republican or, in this case with Cuomo, perpetrated by a Democrat. It should not be a partisan issue. And I think Republicans have to acknowledge that over the last couple of years and starting with that 2016 campaign, there were things that were done by Trump and now, in this case, that are being done by Cuomo that look very, very similar.
But I think Chuck, it speaks to a bigger problem we have in many stats in this country which is what happens when you have one party in charge for too long, it creates a toxic environment. An environment that lacks accountability. You see it in New York. By the way, it’s the same sort of factors that are fueling the potential recall of Gavin Newsom here in California.
It’s what happens when you don't have people standing up and saying, “this is going wrong” and standing up earlier being willing to talk about, for example, the culture of toxicity we see in Cuomo and in other states.
TODD: Maria Teresa, you know, I think plenty of Democrats are now speaking out about Cuomo. What does it say if shame does not work now for Cuomo? Shame hasn’t worked for Trump. Shame not going to work for Cuomo?
MARIA TERESA KMAR: I think that what John was saying was absolutely on the nose, that Trump basically moved the goalpost of what is proper and what isn’t. And I think that unless there is a massive recall for impropriety by the New York voters, he won't step down. I think he’s doubling down unless something worst comes down the pike.
But I would encourage us not equivocate what has been documented with Andrew Cuomo compared to what is happening and trying to grapple with Gavin during his recall. His recall is trying to figure out how do you actually, you know, work better under a pandemic and a disaster? Cuomo has actual allegations not just on the nursing home front but also personal allegations of sexual harassment, which should not be okay in any type of working environment.
(…)
TODD: I also wonder, John Heilemann, when Andrew Cuomo used the phrase “cancel culture,” I thought: “Oh really? Now you’re going to use a Fox talking point to defend yourself? And you’re going to think Democrats are going to stick by you?” It seemed like to be a really poor choice of words.
HEILEMANN: Well, yeah Chuck. I mean, again it’s another part – another page from the Trump playbook. And I think it’s also – But it’s cognizant I think in Andrew's mind – the Governor’s mind that New York is a Democratic state, but there’s lots – big chunks of New York that's not – that are not as liberal as people assume New York is.
And I think though, the Governor knows he’s lost the congressional delegation, he’s obviously lost the left, he’s obviously lost – he’s not lost Gillibrand and Schumer. He’s lost everybody. He's making a bid to try to go to essentially the Republican voters of the state to keep his numbers in a place where he can –and the broader and moderate Democrats to push this off and say, “Look, let's have a process here” and just try to ride this out and hope that he can survive. At least so that he can finish this term and have stayed in office as long as his father stayed in office. That's very important in the Governor's mind.
TODD: Well, it was amazing to read today that he has no place to go, no place to live. He has no apartment. He has no house. He only has the governor's mansion.
