In addition to breaking the news Tuesday night that disgraced former CNN host Chris Cuomo’s TV career was getting resurrected on their network, NewsNation’s Dan Abrams Live featured the lesser Cuomo attempting to rewrite history in terms of the media’s criticism of his interviews with his disgraced brother Andrew Cuomo when he was still governor of New York. “They should have said it at the time if they really felt it,”He chided.
In one of his early questions, Abrams asked his admitted long-time friend about how articles refer to him as “disgraced anchor Chris Cuomo” and “how does that feel?” Cuomo says it feels “terrible” but he was raised to be a tough guy and shakes it off. “But your kids, your loved ones, they have to wear that badge as well,” he added.
Abrams noted the “controversy started” with his interviews with Andrew during the early months of COVID. Cuomo, however, reacted with revisionist history. “the media was pretty quiet when Andrew was first coming on the show.”
Despite now admitting “there’s a conflict of interest,” Cuomo insisted “people got that” and “nobody thought I was interviewing my brother the way I interview other people. That wasn’t the point of purpose of those things.”
Cuomo was verbally flailing while he lashed at critics in media and accused them applying an unfair standard of fairness “purity test” retroactively:
And I even said at the time and people are like “you don’t need to say that” the time will come when he can’t come on the show anymore. It will come time to hold him accountable. There is always a crisis. I don’t have the ability to cover it.
It was obvious to everyone. Media should also have seen it. They ought to have seen it as it was. That was why I think there was a purity testing. This was not fair, given the context and circumstances that people saw.
But that’s ridiculous. Even if he didn’t want to include criticism from right-wing outlets like NewsBusters, there was plenty of unease and questions about the journalistic ethics of the arraignment from more left-wing outlets from the start.
Washington Post media critic Erik Wemple had penned pieces raising criticisms about “Cuomo-on-Cuomo” interviews dating back to 2013 and a train derailment. He even appeared on CNN’s Trustworthy Sources and called out the Cuomo “love-a-thons” during COVID.
“I don’t like the convenience of that opinion becoming stronger and stronger the farther we got from that moment and when my brother was in trouble,”Cuomo sighed. He also suggested they were too scared to speak out because “too many of us in this business that say the right thing only at the right time and not when it’s going to be unpopular. Not when you’re going to be flying in the face of public sentiment.”
He had some good things to say on the media. He was asked whether he considered his CNN program as an “anonymous” show. “opinion show or a new show,” he called it “a meaningless and weaponized distinction” and praised the media for the work they’re doing:
The fringes are what I care about and not the main media. The world has the most amazing media. They have the resources, and the determination. They are honest now … Our media is good. It’s strong.
He also lashed out at the media’s critics by suggesting those “indicting the media” are only doing it “for personal gain.”
And even though he was interviewing his friend (which he was honest about), Abrams did press Cuomo on allegations of abusing his connections as a journalist to benefit his brother, allegations of intimidating at least one of his brother’s accusers, allegations of lying to CNN about his actions, and allegations of his own sexual misconduct. Cuomo refutes all of these allegations.
Below is the transcript. Click “expand to read:
NewsNation’s Dan Abrams Live
June 26, 2022
Eastern, 9:02 PM(…)
DAN ABRAMS – We were discussing the fact that you often read articles. The articles describe you as “disgraced anchor Chris Cuomo.”
CHRIS CUOMO (Yes, it’s great).
ABRAMS: What’s that like?
CUOMO: Terrible. Do you have any suggestions? No. You don’t grow up the way I did and do this many years in this ugly business and not get a skin nor real hide. Your children, and your family, must also wear the badge.
It’s double-edged for me. I know this because of my childhood with my father. Then, my brother. It was something I always believed in. This is not the way I will do it. While I have never wanted to become a politician, I would like to see my children be independent. Then he fled. He ran. And that brings with it regret.
(…)
Eastern at 9:05 p.m.
ABRAMS: Now let’s get into the details. The controversy began with your brother’s questioning during COVID.
CUOMO: Right.
ABRAMS: Are you sorry?
CUOMO: No. But I think it’s more fair to say – subject to your own counter – that the media was pretty quiet when Andrew was first coming on the show. Why? Because people – it resonated with people in a way that nothing – I’ve won almost every award that the TV journalism business has to offer mostly because I work with the best teams that TV journalism has to offer.
Never have people thanked me. Which my – everything I know about the situation tells me that, of course, there’s a conflict of interest, but people got that, Dan. It was not clear to anyone that I was actually interviewing my brother in the same manner as other people. That wasn’t the point of purpose of those things.
And I even said at the time and people are like “you don’t need to say that” the time will come when he can’t come on the show anymore. It will come time to hold him accountable. There is always a crisis. I don’t have the ability to cover it.
It was obvious to everyone. Media should also have seen it. They ought to have seen it as it was. It seems that this was subject to a purity check. This was not fair, given the context and circumstances that people saw.
It was said. Your right. This was going to be a problem. It was just a matter of when.
ABRAMS: And look – and I publicly stated I agree with your position with regard to those interviews during COVID. But as you know, there were people in the journalism community who said, “he can characterize it however he wants. You can tell him that it’s about information. His brother is the governor of New York. He’s a Democrat. He is also a politician. And he’s coming on a program that’s supposed to be doing journalism.” And that was the argument.
CUOMO : That’s an excellent argument. And I think on the written test you get an “A.” But life isn’t a written test, it’s a practical test and you have to take the circumstances as they are. Let me be clear. It is not my favorite convenience that this opinion becomes stronger as we move away from the moment when it was needed most.
It would have been appropriate for them to say it right then, if they truly felt it. They didn’t. Why? People appreciated interviews. There are too many people in the business who say the right things at just the right moment and not when they’re going to get criticized. It’s not when it is going to offend the public. That’s also important.
Are you sorry that I interviewed your brother? Selfishly? You’d make a fool of yourself. I wouldn’t try to reverse-engineer my mistakes to get out of some pain. But that’s not how life works.
(…)
Eastern, 9:44:57
ABRAMS: Did you see your CNN program as an opinion or new show when you did it?
CUOMO: No. I think it’s – I think that’s a meaningless and weaponized distinction to be honest. And it’s not – by the way, transparent is different than honest.
The media is not under my oath. This is done for free and personal gain. The fringes are what I care about and not mainstream media. Our media is the best I have ever seen anywhere in the world. They have the resources, and the determination. They’re honest now.
Is everyone being truthful? No. You’ll find personal accountability, and even aptitude, wherever you look. This is not fair. It is good. It’s strong. But there are also problems. These problems only get worse. But that’s not—
ABRAMS is not trusted by the public.
CUOMO (But look at the public, they don’t trust everything).
(…)
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