Chris Cuomo isn't simply the host of "Cuomo Prime Time," on CNN, he's the younger brother to New York's embattled governor, Andrew Cuomo, who is a Democrat. While he said on air in March that he could not and cover his brother's many scandals, Spencer covered a report from the Washington Post explaining how Chris helped advise his brother. The damning details forced Chris Cuomo to respond during the opening of Thursday's show.
“Being a journalist and a brother to a politician is… a unique challenge, and I have a unique responsibility to balance those roles,” says @ChrisCuomo regarding reports that he offered advice to his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “It was a mistake.” pic.twitter.com/P0GkglgrYM
— Cuomo Prime Time (@CuomoPrimeTime) May 21, 2021
Cuomo did not try to pretend otherwise. He referred to the reports as "stories that I offer my brother advice," and then answered to that as "of course I do. This is no revelation. I have said it publicly and I certainly have never hidden it. I can be objective about just about any topic, but not about my family."
After reminding viewers he's "fiercely loyal" to his family and that he has "a unique responsibility to balance those roles" of being Andrew Cuomo's brother and a cable news TV host, Cuomo explained and apologized, but not for the right reasons or to the appropriate people:
When my brother's situation become turbulent, being looped into calls with other friends of his, and advisors, that did include some of his staff, I understand why that was a problem for CNN. It will not happen again. It was a mistake because I put my colleagues here, who I believe are the best in the business, in a bad spot. I never intended for that, I would never intend for that, and I am sorry for that.
So apparently it's a matter of keeping to appearances, since it was "a mistake" in how it affected CNN.
For a refresher, here's what Spencer's reporting covered earlier today about what that advising entailed:
According to the Washington Post, Chris Cuomo "joined a series of conference calls that included the Democratic governor's top aide, his communications team, lawyers and a number of outside advisers, according to people familiar with the conversations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private sessions."
"The cable news anchor encouraged his brother to take a defiant position and not to resign from the governor's office," explains the Post's report. "At one point, he used the phrase 'cancel culture' as a reason to hold firm in the face of the allegations."
Cuomo closed his opening with an impassioned reminder that not only does he not cover his brother, he has never tried to influence CNN, and that he's "walled off" from CNN's coverage.
As if that makes any kind of a difference, especially when Chris and Andrew Cuomo are indeed so "fiercely loyal" to each other. CNN already isn't going to discipline the anchor.
Andrew Cuomo has been caught up in scandals involving purposefully undercounting and delaying the number of nursing home COVID deaths; sexual misconduct; and offering family members and friends priority tests in the early days of the pandemic, which includes Chris.