“The View” co-host Meghan McCain said Monday that CNN prime-time host Chris Cuomo and his treatment of his older brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, are “ground zero” for why Americans don’t trust the media.
The younger Mr. Cuomo has remained notably silent as his Democratic governor brother faces two separate scandals regarding his treatment of women and of nursing home residents during the coronavirus pandemic. The CNN host finally addressed his silence Monday night, explaining that to cover the news surrounding his brother would be a conflict of interest.
“You’re straight with me, I’ll be straight with you,” Chris Cuomo At the start of Monday’s “Cuomo Prime Time” show. “Obviously, I’m aware of what’s going on with my brother. And obviously, I cannot cover it because he is my brother.
“Now, of course, CNN has to cover it,” he continued. “They have covered it extensively and they will continue to do so. I have always cared very deeply about these issues, and profoundly so. I just wanted to tell you that. There’s a lot of news going on that matters also, so let’s get after that.”
The comments immediately drew criticism, as the two brothers appeared on air together just last summer as the pandemic raged.
“So you interviewed your brother a thousand times with giant q-tips joking about his sex life during covid but now that he’s an accused predator, it’s a conflict?” Ms. McCain tweeted.
“Give me an absolute break. Hypocrites,” she wrote. “This is ground zero of why the American public doesn’t trust ANY of the media.”
Last month, while the governor was facing increasing backlash over his underreporting of nursing home deaths and policies regarding nursing home patients during the pandemic, CNN announced that it was reinstituting a ban that prohibited Chris Cuomo from covering his brother.
The statement followed months of criticism after the younger Cuomo had the governor on his show and the two yukked it up about brotherly rivalries as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the country in May.
“The early months of the pandemic crisis were an extraordinary time,” CNN said in a Feb. 17 statement. “We felt that Chris speaking with his brother about the challenges of what millions of American families were struggling with was of significant human interest.
“As a result, we made an exception to a rule that we have had in place since 2013 which prevents Chris from interviewing and covering his brother, and that rule remains in place today. CNN has covered the news surrounding Governor Cuomo extensively,” the statement added.
Since that statement, three women have come forward to accuse the governor of sexual harassment, which he denies.
