Strange Bedfellows
You would probably have to sit President Trump and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo at different ends of the dinner party table, and that was before social distancing. It’s pretty clear they don’t like each other but did put any personal animus aside when it came to providing what the state needed to handle COVID-19.
So in one respect, it might be surprising to hear the three-term Democrat actually defending the Republican president in a radio interview this week…but it happened.
Cuomo said the media has not treated the president with the respect the office commands, and that it’s trickling down to his relations with the media.
In an interview with WAMC radio Monday, the governor said journalists have taken a nastier tone, showing a “disrespect that never existed”.
In his words, “The way they question President Trump at some of these press conferences is just–I’ve never heard that tone with the president.” The host then asked if Trump deserved it, to which Gov. Cuomo responded that there is supposed to be a level of decorum, that one respects the institution regardless of one’s personal feelings about the person in the job. And he called some reporters unprofessional, because they “don’t know the facts and ask really biased questions”.
Of course, he himself was just coming off some testy media exchanges due to announcing personal Thanksgiving plans that seemed to violate the rules he set for everyone else in his state…but somewhat telling that the one thing two of the most high profile office holders in the country can agree on is be critical of the media.News/Talk 1540 KXEL · Iowa Politics — Wed. Nov. 25, 2020
