Buffoon of the Week Staff
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo snapped during a press conference when questioned about NYC school closings. When confused reporters challenged Cuomo, he obnoxiously answered, “I don’t really care what you think” in response to a request for a policy clarification.
Check out this clipped portion of the press conference here:
Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed! Reporters from the NY Post and NY Times had simply asked Cuomo to clarify whether NYC schools would be opening on Thursday. This resulted in an arrogant lecture by Cuomo about the reporter’s tone and perceived ignorance of known rules and regulations:
The governor then barked, “Follow the facts!”
Vielkind responded that he was “still confused” and that “parents are still confused as well.”
“Well, then you’re confused,” Cuomo railed. “No, they’re not confused, you’re confused.”
New York Times reporter Jesse McKinley then followed up on Vielkind’s question and asked Cuomo again whether New York City schools will be open Thursday.
“The schools are open by state law,” said Cuomo.
Ultimately, confusion reigned, as Cuomo claimed that he did have the power to close NYC schools, but that they were not closing. NYC school officials directly contradicted Cuomo by announcing that schools were indeed closing citywide through Thanksgiving.
Incredibly, city officials, including NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio told the press that they made Cuomo well aware of the school closure announcement in advance, even though the Governor appeared surprised when a reporter asked him about Carranza’s announcement.
Our Take…
Andrew Cuomo is and petty and arrogant would-be dictator. He’s shown this in the past, including earlier this year when he got into a tit-fr-tat legal battle over food in bars.
As you know, we have no love for media here, but we have to give them credit when it’s due. These two reporters from opposite sides of the spectrum pushed to clarify some confusion. It turned out that the questions were indeed justified, as the City was announcing closures that Cuomo was denying!
Bottom line: Andrew Cuomo has been one of the worst leaders during COVID-19. His disastrous decision-making cost the lives of thousands of elderly New Yorkers. His failure to shut down the state earlier caused the largest pandemic spike in the world. Yet, he wants to paint pictures about climbing the COVID mountain and write books on leadership.
Unless it’s a “How Not To” book, Cuomo’s book should be clearly destined for the fiction section.
This latest temper tantrum is borne form Cuomo’s own hubris. Notice how he projected his own audacity and arrogance onto the reporter. Then Cuomo condescends a response that isn’t even an answer to the question. Cuomo then plays the victim when another reporter follows up on his non-answer.
We’ll keep an eye on Cuomo’s tantrums in the weeks to come as we get closer to our Buffoon of the Year tournament!
