PBS White House correspondent and MSNBC contributor Yamiche Alcindor joined Andrea Mitchell Reports on Wednesday to discuss the fallout of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's sexual harassment and abuse scandal. For Alcindor one of the takeaways is that, unlike Republicans, Democrats have no tolerance for such behavior.
After talking about the "cringe" slideshow presentation Cuomo gave in an attempt to defend himself -- that Cuomo tried to align himself with Obama and Biden -- Alcindor described Cuomo as a man who "is someone who is ready for a fight."
Repeating that Cuomo has no intention of resigning, she declared:
He is someone who thinks he can hold on and when I'm talking to people, Democrats, they are also pointing to people like former President Trump who held on after dozens and dozens of women accused him of sexual harassment, of abuse and rape he was able to continue to still be president and now has a lot of power in the Republican Party, that's in some ways what Andrew Cuomo is trying to hang on to power and act a bit Trumpian here.
According to Alcindor, the analogy falls part because, "Democrats don't seem to have the same appetite for this sort of behavior that the GOP has."
Mitchell agreed, "Yeah, 21 women and also holding on after the Access Hollywood tape was revealed when he was first running for office. So that is the playbook to just outlast the outrage, if he can."
For the media, it's as if Bill Clinton and his impeachment never existed. Liberal hero Sen. Ted Kennedy, "the lion of the Senate," left a woman to drown after a car accident, and, with fellow liberal Sen. Chris Dodd, allegedly sexually assaulted a woman in the infamous 1985 "waitress sandwich."
So no, Democrats do not have the moral high ground and it is easy for them to say Cuomo should resign when they know that the blue state governor will be replace by another Democrat.
This segment was sponsored by Progressive.
Here is a transcript for the August 4 show:
MSNBC
Andrea Mitchell Reports
12:10 PM ET
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: In talking to White House officials, even though president himself would not comment directly about this even though he commented about it, in talking to White House officials, there is this sort of cringe that happens when you have someone, a governor who has now been accused not only of sexual harassment, but of sexual abuse, of creating a toxic work environment, then turning to former presidents, or I should say, former President Obama as well current President Biden and adding pictures and what they do to his rebuttal, it’s sort of stunning and in some ways it underscores who Governor Cuomo is, and he is someone who is ready for a fight.
He is someone who thinks he can hold on, and when I'm talking to people, Democrats, they are also pointing to people like former President Trump who held on after dozens and dozens of women accused him of sexual harassment, of abuse and rape he was able to continue to still be president and now has a lot of power in the Republican Party, that's in some ways what Andrew Cuomo is trying to hang on to power and act a bit Trumpian here, but Democrats don't seem to have the same appetite for this sort of behavior that the GOP has.
ANDREA MITCHELL: Yeah, 21 women and also holding on after the Access Hollywood tape was revealed when he was first running for office. So that is the playbook to just outlast the outrage, if he can.
