Comedian Bill Maher told NewsNation host Chris Cuomo on Sunday he doesn’t think Andrew Cuomo can recover politically. The reason? The COVID-19 nursing home scandal during his time as New York governor. Cuomo is reportedly eyeing a run for NYC mayor, but Maher believes that plan is “doomed.”
Cuomo’s administration had allowed COVID-positive patients into nursing homes. Later, they were accused of underreporting deaths. Maher shared his thoughts on his podcast “Club Random.” Cuomo’s brother, Chris, pushed back.
“I like him. He’s been on my show now a couple of times, even did the panel, which was great, I think. I don’t think he’s going to get past the nursing home thing,” Maher said. “I mean, I read the New York papers. When the Times and the Post are both on the same page, it’s — you know.”
Maher made it clear he didn’t think Cuomo was being evil. “Politics is a highwire act,” he said. “Yeah, like one boner decision can — yeah, people go, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t trust that guy’s judgment,’ or they don’t. I don’t know what the fuck will happen.”
Chris Cuomo disagreed. He said the scandal doesn’t define the race. “I do,” Maher replied, standing firm. They clearly weren’t seeing eye to eye.
Chris pointed to internal party conflicts. He said Democrats have to decide if they care more about winning or sticking to principles. “I’m not a fan of the parties,” he added. “I don’t think they’re my father’s party by a long shot.”
Chris also brought up polling. A March Emerson poll had Andrew Cuomo with 38% in the Democratic primary. The next closest candidate had only 10%. “You know, Andrew’s leading in the polls for a reason. It’s not name recognition,” he said. “It’s because when people look at their experience living in the city, they believe he’s someone who can make it better.”
Maher pushed back. “It’s also huge name recognition. You’re the Cuomos. You’re like royalty in New York,” he said. “Your father was the governor. Your brother was the governor. You know, come on, of course it’s name recognition.”
Chris countered that voters know both the good and the bad. Maher agreed. Then he added the field of candidates is weak. That could help Cuomo’s chances, scandal or not.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams recently announced he’ll run for re-election as an independent in 2025. He only had 8% support in the March poll. That low number could leave the door open for someone like Cuomo.
The nursing home controversy dates back to 2020. Reports claimed Cuomo’s team altered data to protect his image. The Daily Caller News Foundation first broke that story.
In March, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith pressed Cuomo about it. Cuomo didn’t express regret. He defended the state’s record. “For every 100 people in nursing homes, how many died? The state of New York is number 38,” he said. “Only 12 states had a lower rate of death than New York.”
Cuomo said New York faced the virus first. “It just fell out of the sky for New Yorkers,” he added. “But those are federal numbers.” He stood by his handling of the crisis.
“The rate of death in nursing homes — we ranked number 38. I would have liked to be number 50. But 38 — only 12 states had a lower rate of death,” Cuomo said. “I think that says New York officials, health officials, not only did their job but did it well.”
Cuomo resigned in August 2021. That was after a report from Attorney General Letitia James. It said he allegedly harassed eleven women. He denied wrongdoing but stepped down, saying the government needed to focus on COVID.