Introduction
In the midst of the chaos of 2020, while people across the globe were looking for answers, the mainstream American media was hard at work spinning anything and everything they could get their hands on. Tall tales of heroism against the Republicans and their leader, President Trump, was the preferred narrative of choice. This led to organizations like The Lincoln Project and people like Dr. Fauci and Andrew Cuomo being elevated and lavished with praise at every turn for anything and everything.
In hindsight, all three deserved none of the esteem they received and should have never been lauded as heroes, but central figures in the mainstream media absolutely lost all grasp on reality in 2020 in their efforts to take down President Trump by any means necessary. In the meantime, Andrew Cuomo in particular spent most of his time covering up his extensive mishandling of not only the Covid-19 pandemic, but Medicaid funds extending back years prior. That coverup is important, and will be explored in-depth in the second installment. I believe it is the crux as to why Andrew Cuomo’s nursing home massacre occurred at all.
Knowing what we know now, before we dive into the media’s handling of Andrew Cuomo in 2020, it begs the question: If Democrats hadn’t spent the majority of 2020 running interference for Andrew Cuomo, how much sooner would the truth have gotten out? How many innocent lives could have been saved?
Sections
Cuomosexual Mania
– Chelsea-Handler
– Other Examples
The Mainstream Media Propaganda Machine
– The Art of the Wrap Smear
The Cuomo Brothers Propaganda Power Hour
– Fredo Responds
– Chris Crosses the Line
On the Next Installment
Cuomosexual Mania
In Blood Money, we will examine the years and months leading up to the time the Covid-19 outbreak became the topic the legacy media focused in on and never let up from for the entire year. Most of 2020 saw celebrities and news anchors alike wasting no time in selecting Andrew Cuomo as their champion against President Trump. Seemingly out of desperation for a strong and competent figure to prop up in contrast to the president, the resulting frenzy marked the beginning of the era of the “Cuomosexual.” Quite frankly, most of it is flat out embarrassing.
Chelsea Handler
First in the long list of prominent media figures making a fool of themselves to prove they loved Cuomo the most is Chelsea Handler. Her opinion piece for Vogue titled, “Dear Andrew Cuomo, I Want to Be Your First Lady,” In it she wrote, “Thank you for talking about the value of human life and for reminding us that no one’s mother is expendable. I love you, Andrew Cuomo.” And yes, the image to the right was used for that article, in a more-than ridiculous display of political worship and praise for the disgraced governor.
The very first paragraph of the article, whose cover photo comprised of Governor Cuomo’s face surrounded by hearts, starts with Handler referring to Cuomo as her future lover and finishes with her claiming that during the Mueller Report era a year before she developed, “a strong sexual desire for his body to be on top of mine.” Referring to Robert Mueller, no joke.
She thanks him for leading and telling “the truth—even when the news is bad,” and then thanks him for wearing his “tight white polo shirts.”
Towards the end she writes, “I love you, Andrew Cuomo,” and finishes by saying she can’t wait to vote for him as president someday.
Keep in mind, this was published on March 31, 2020, and at that point we had no idea how effective anyone’s leadership decisions would be, so the media and celebrities were able to tell their audiences that Andrew Cuomo was doing an amazing job for months without there being much proof if he was or not. Handler did not wait before making her decision to throw her influence behind the now-disgraced governor and encouraged Americans to join her in admiring Governor Cuomo.
It doesn’t stop with the embarrassing op-ed, either. On April 16, 2020, Handler appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and in a video uploaded by the actual show titled, “Andrew Cuomo’s Graphs and Pie Charts Turn on Chelsea Handler,” the crass comedian doubles down and takes it even further.
The video is queued up to that specific moment below:
I’m so turned on by him. I’m so turned on by the leadership.”
Other Examples
Maureen Dowd evoked images of a big Italian family in her piece for the New York Times about Cuomo in late March, glossing over the topic of nepotism when it comes to Governor Cuomo’s late father and former Governor of New York, Mario Cuomo, and making light of his on-air antics with his younger brother, Chris Cuomo, who hosts a prime-time segment on CNN—a segment that both brothers appeared on together several times in 2020.
A Marie Claire piece titled, “My Boyfriend Andrew Cuomo’s New Girlfriend is America” describes the governor as, “62 years old, Sagittarius, divorced, recently single after his tabloid break-up with Sandra Lee, a father, dog owner, and brother of the arguably (much) hotter CNN anchor Chris Cuomo.”
Molly Jong-Fast, frequent critic of all things Republican, wrote a opinion column, “Why We Are Crushing on Andrew Cuomo Right Now” in which she declared, “All of a sudden, I love Governor Cuomo, his soothing Queens accent, his stories about his dad Mario (himself a three-time governor of New York) and his 88-year-old mother Matilda.”
The Mainstream Media Propaganda Machine
Governor Cuomo had clearly emerged as a favorite in the media and was treated with celebrity status among other celebrities—but that treatment leaked into standard news reporting that might have otherwise be considered relatively “fair and balanced news.” I say that somewhat sarcastically, but the reporting on Cuomo from outlets like the New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, etc., went from being relatively neutral (or even unfavorable at times) to:
In the example above, the New York Times moons over Governor Cuomo NOT criticizing President Trump for suggesting the massive spike in PPE usage was abnormal (even within the context of a viral outbreak) and could be a sign of theft of those items.
Governor Cuomo later appeared on Cuomo Prime Time, a show on CNN named for and hosted by Andrew Cuomo’s younger brother Chris Cuomo, Governor Cuomo was asked his thoughts on President Trump insinuating equipment was going out the back door. Governor Cuomo replied, “It’s a very vague thing. It went out the back door? I don’t know what that means.”
In the Times article, Governor Cuomo’s response to his brother was then painted as an artful balance between being tough and being diplomatic so he could remain in President Trump’s good graces. The author of the article seems to hold the belief that President Trump might withdraw federal Coronavirus funding for New York should he be publicly challenged. Therefore, by that insane line of reasoning, Andrew Cuomo is a selfless hero trying to protect his New York residents, even if it meant kissing up to President Trump.
In reality, Governor Cuomo’s artful dodge from criticizing President Trump was likely due to the fact that he’d made the exact same statement three weeks prior on March 6th:
Not just people taking a couple [PPE supplies] or three, I mean just actual thefts of those products,” Cuomo said at a press conference in Albany. “I’ve asked the state police to do an investigation, look at places that are selling masks, medical equipment, protective wear, feeding the anxiety.”
The Art of the Wrap Smear
This is a prime example of the double standards the mainstream media has for President Trump and anyone who supports him, compared to their standards (or lack thereof) for anyone else. As reports of PPE theft from hospitals and doctor’s offices popped up around the country, the New York Times and a cadre of other news outlets went on the defensive:
- Deborah Levine, a propagandist for The Washington Post, wrote an article titled, “No, Mr. President, Healthcare Workers Aren’t Stealing Masks. You Failed Them.”
- Left-wing Twitter talking heads parroted the same sentiments.
- Joe Biden called it “reckless and ignorant,” much to the joy of the Huffington Post.
- Progressive news outlet The Ring of Fire published a lengthy video in which the presenter laments about the president’s statement.
The Media Virus
In a crucial time when PPE theft mattered, the ones with the ability to raise awareness and do something about it did the exact opposite. They ignored the problem with deadly consequences and instead fought for clicks and views by bashing President Trump.
Perhaps if they’d taken two minutes to do a simple web search, they would find:
• Modern Healthcare reported on March 3, 2020, that an infectious disease physician in Boston said her hospital in Boston was targeted for PPE theft.
• In California, hospital workers said people were “running into hospitals and stealing masks and hand sanitizers, or ripping them off the walls.” It was such a problem that SLO county put out a public notice pleading for people to stop.
• The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported a physician’s assistant stole enough PPE for it to be classified as a felony.
• In the Cuomo brothers’ own back yard, a New York woman was arrested on April 1, 2020, for stealing medical supplies and shipping them to other people.
But instead of doing their research or reporting on the truth, Blue Anon whipped up another reactionary media frenzy to distract and divide Americans. In hindsight, it would be interesting to try to figure out how many people may have died due to lack of PPE in those larger cities, and if they might not have if the media had done its job.
Rather than doing that, the media got their Trump hate porn clicks… and accomplished nothing helpful all in one go. Such is the life of the legacy media. Informing the public is out… it’s all about the Google Adsense revenue, baby!
The Media Created a Monster
For Andrew Cuomo, blind and unwavering support from the mainstream media, a sense of accessibility fostered by silly interviews with his brother, the antics of Blue Anon, and a Stockholm Syndrome sort of adoration that came from his captive audience, all combined to create perfect conditions for a looming disaster involving Governor Cuomo to come to fruition without many noticing. Publicly, if you spoke out against him in any way, you would be excoriated. Cuomo was the Democratic golden boy, and he was untouchable—even while he was quietly setting up New York to fail, covering up his years of incompetence, and reveling in the limelight all at the same time.
Katrina vanden Heuvel, a Washington Post propagandist with a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, wrote a starry-eyed op-ed titled, “Can Andrew Cuomo become FDR?” All the while, Cuomo was lining the pockets of donor groups and lobbyists, signing legislation that gave immunity to hospital executive from civil and criminal liability.
In this montage of clips put together by Newsbusters, media talking heads fawn over Governor Cuomo in a comical fashion. You’ll see Brian Stelter, Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow, Lester Holt, Chris Cuomo, and more, tripping over themselves to praise him for anything and everything.
You might ask yourself why on Earth Chris Cuomo could team up with his politician brother to bolster their narratives, and how it could have possibly been allowed—much less celebrated by many—for so long. The stakes were at an all-time high to be honest and report truths. Instead, CNN abandoned the last shreds of integrity they had in favor of their newfound ratings boost.
The Cuomo Brothers Propaganda Power Hour
Covid-19 was not the first incident that brought the brothers Cuomo together while both on the job. However, when it happened before, people were a lot more critical. In 2013, CNN and the Cuomo brothers got backlash when Chris interviewed Andrew after a Metro-North train derailed and killed four people.
Some did defend him however, such as Greta Van Susteren from Fox News and The Daily Beast.
Chris’s response was extremely dismissive and overlooked crucial details about his brother’s authority over the MTA, which is a state agency. Governor Cuomo appointed its chairman, CEO, and five of nineteen board members—so when Chris said it wasn’t about politics or his brother’s career, he was either being ignorant or evasive. Despite Chris disclosing their familial relationship, it did nothing to negate the actual conflict of interest either.
In a similar situation in 2012, Brian Stelter himself wrote about a conflict of interest with Greg Kelly interviewing his father, who was Police Commissioner. Stelter examines that situation significantly more thoroughly than anything relating to his own colleague.
Fredo Responds
When asked on Twitter his thoughts on the criticism, Chris said he wouldn’t interview his brother about politics. For years after, CNN didn’t allow the Cuomos to appear in interviews together. From what I could find, that was the only prior instance, and admittedly it was mild enough of an interaction, though the concerns about a conflict of interest were absolutely warranted. At the time, Chris insisted repeatedly that he wouldn’t have done it if it were a conflict of interest or about Governor Cuomo’s political career. I assume the ratings weren’t worth the hassle of the media frenzy surrounding them at the time, but that changed with Covid-19.
When the duo first landed on the screen together in 2020, those platitudes went out the window. When Cuomo Prime Time’s ratings doubled last year, I imagine CEO Jeff Zucker somewhere shrugged his shoulders and said, “fuck it.” Money talks, as always. Chris hosted Andrew on his show at least nine times between March 19 and June 24 in 2020 because of it.
Unlike Chris’s insistence after their interview in 2013 that their interaction was no different than it would have been for someone else, their shared screen time was anything but in 2020. The interactions were a bizarre blend of awe-struck praise for the Governor from his younger brother, emotional appeals made seemingly with the intent to convince the viewer they were just two loving brothers trying to save America, and… prop comedy.
I wish I were kidding on that last one. Stop and consider: someone had to pitch the idea, write it, make it, produce it, review it, and then decide it was a good idea and air it.
Very few media outlets even paused to consider how inappropriate their on-screen antics were. Instead, Chris joined his brother in attaining MSM folk hero status:
• The Associated Press (the outlet with the power to declare the president whenever they want to, apparently) reported that their “teasing big brother-little brother dynamic often enlivens their appearances together. The governor called him his best friend.”
• Vanity Fair published an article claiming their antics were great entertainment, “whether out of the need for distractions, heroes, or points of clarification.”
Those are just two quick examples, but there are far more.
Finally, in the middle of 2020, CNN expressed a small amount of self-awareness and had Chris mention that it was, in fact, not normal for a politician and a news anchor with a familial relationship to appear together on TV as much as they did.
Chris Cuomo says it would never be “seen as” fair. But in the next sentence, he makes an emotional appeal to the audience, making it much more likely they would excuse and overlook the issue. The most honest thing Chris says is that he’d never be objective. But nobody seemed to notice or care that he wasn’t… until now.
Chris Crosses the Line
A major red flag in their increasing comfort of Governor Cuomo appearing on Cuomo Prime Time was the moment Chris instead popped in as a guest on Governor Cuomo’s official press briefing on April 2, 2020. Prior to that moment, you could make the argument that television, even the news, is a form of entertainment and in that setting neither Governor Cuomo nor Chris Cuomo have any obligation to be anything other than just that: entertaining.
With the roles reversed, however, Governor Cuomo is required to be more than entertainment. Chris Cuomo showing up as a sort of guest star, wearing his show’s branded hat no less, for an official state Coronavirus briefing crossed a line. Again, nobody seemed to notice or care.
Unlike his coverage of the situation with Greg Kelly in 2012, Reliable Sources With Brian Stelter covered the Cuomo brothers as if nothing they were doing was improper. Honestly, this shouldn’t come as a shock, as Brian Stelter is one of the biggest mainstream media hacks there is.
On the Next Installment
Governor Cuomo’s meteoric rise in popularity led to Chris Cuomo’s subsequent spike in media ratings, a situation in which both brothers capitalized greatly on. However, a largely unknown part of this story is the subsequent rise in popularity of Chris Cuomo’s wife, who also managed to use general intrigue about their family and Chris Cuomo’s diagnosis with Covid-19 early on to promote her health website and Covid treatments for her husband. These included promo codes for expensive juice cleanses and a myriad of other treatments that her husband would turn around and go on CNN and smear as being conspiracy treatments to the rest of America,
Stay tuned!
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