ALBANY, NY – For days, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has been preaching a sacrificial message during the holidays, warning New York residents that Thanksgiving gatherings could be dangerous as viral cases flourish across the country and ask them to reconsider their help. their plans. inhibits the rising tide.
So it was surprising when Mr. Cuomo announced Monday afternoon that he had invited his 89-year-old mother, Matilda and two daughters, to celebrate the very Cuomo Thanksgiving with him this week in Albany.
The news of the family dinner came during a radio interview that answered a question about the upcoming holiday.
“My mother will come up and my two daughters,” the governor said at WAMC, adding, “Plans are changing. But that’s my plan.
Mr Cuomo’s plans would change again quickly, but not soon enough to avoid condemning the most common critics.
“There is no limit to her arrogance and hypocrisy,” wrote Elise Stefanik, a Republican who was recently re-elected for a fourth term, on Twitter. – Do as I say, not as I do.
Criticism suggested that Mr. Cuomo’s heroic figure retreated significantly after helping New York recover from the pandemic; earlier on Monday, the governor was honored with the International Emmy Founders Award for his more than 100 television briefings at the peak of the pandemic, which also sparked criticism among critics.
The Republican Party of New York was particularly ruthless, saying, “Andrew Cuomo doesn’t need an Emmy, but a control over reality.”
“Governor Cuomo certainly deserves the award for best actor in the fictional stories he has created and declared himself a great leader,” said Nick Langworthy, president of the Republican Party in New York.
Last month, too, Mr Cuomo questioned in a few quarters wrote a memoir about the darkest days of the coronavirus: “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic,” despite New York leading all states to deaths with more than 33,000 people, and now there is a second beginning of a wave.
Mr Cuomo, the Democrat of the third cycle is hardly alone in the increased scrutiny of public actors, especially because he does not follow the same coronavirus rules that their creators had to follow.
Earlier this month, California Govin Newsom was punished for attending a lobbyist’s private birthday dinner at a Napa Valley restaurant where guests mingled tightly without masks.
In New York City, Brooklyn Democratic Party leaders faced repercussions last week after attending a private, indoor party where few wore masks and elicited hypocritical shouts. A few days later, Eric Adams, president of the Brooklyn District, who is preparing to replace Mayor Bill de Blasio, packed an Upper West Side restaurant with donors for a private fundraiser.
On Monday, before commenting on his plans for Thanksgiving, Mr Cuomo said New York City mayoral candidates “must set the highest standards and certainly not break the law”.
The governor said at a press conference in Manhattan that the governor also made a passionate plea to the residents of his state. that it was “not a normal Thanksgiving,” seemingly criticizing some companies for romanticizing the holiday.
“All the beautiful pictures of Thanksgiving in the storybook,” he said, always so eagerly. – As we wish.
Mr Cuomo added that due to the risks of traveling here, he had decided not to spend the holiday with his daughter, Mariah, who was currently in Chicago. He added that he hopes other people in New York will use the holiday to honor the many people affected by the pandemic, including health care and other essential workers, as well as those who lost loved ones in the pandemic.
“Why don’t we really honor this Thanksgiving?” said the governor. “And yes, we’re going to be physically alone, but we’re celebrating together spiritually in a way that’s even deeper than just being where we sit next to someone.”
On Monday night, Mr. Cuomo reconsidered his plans for Thanksgiving. His office described Mr. Cuomo’s initial words as a well-meaning boy told to his mother on the radio, who remarked that he had made his statement with a “change of plan”. The governor would no longer have Thanksgiving dinner with his mother and two daughters.
“Given the current circumstances with Covid, you have to work with Thanksgiving and you won’t see them,” said Richard Azzopardi, the governor’s senior adviser. “Don’t tell your mother,” you don’t know yet.
