Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo blasted his onetime political allies, including President Joe Biden, for turning on him as he battled political scandal in 2021.
Cuomo, who resigned last August amid pressure from Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and others within his party, accused the high-profile Democrats of being fair-weather friends whose betrayal was “traumatizing” and “heartbreaking.”
“Nobody. It was tough. Traumatizing,” Cuomo said when asked which friends stood by him as he fended off accusations of sexual impropriety, which he vehemently denied. “Biden, a friend 20 years, not knowing details, immediately said about me, ‘He’s got to go.’ Biden had troubles years before and I stood by him. Gave him the benefit of the doubt. It was heartbreaking to see him trash me without reading one page, making one phone call.”
ANDREW CUOMO ACCUSER FILES FEDERAL SEXUAL HARASSMENT COMPLAINT
The former governor also counted Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and former President Barack Obama as political figures who abandoned him last summer, adding, “The phrase ‘political friends’ is an oxymoron.”
“Pelosi? Please. I know her 30 years. Her daughter worked for me. Obama? He’s been tough. When troubles come, you like to think you’re different. You’re not. Enemies and haters accumulate. Schumer, [New York Sen. Kirsten] Gillibrand, pals working in the state, friends I respected fell like dominos,” he continued. “Lose your power and heartless politicians read the tea leaves. You’re dead. Over.”
The self-described “tough” and “strong” New York Democrat, who listed refurbishing New York’s John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports and opening New York City’s Second Avenue subway among his accomplishments in office, demurred when asked about his political plans, calling his successor, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), the “best alternative.”
“I’m a lawyer who can rep clients in corporations, finance, government relations, real estate people. I can earn money. And I’ll express my opinion in the next few weeks. But right now, nice, well-meaning, hardworking Hochul’s your best alternative,” he said, noting he can “make a go in another four years.”
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Cuomo, who resigned on Aug. 24, 2021, after Attorney General Letitia James released her report indicating he sexually harassed 11 women, has teased his intent to make a political comeback, insisting he never engaged in inappropriate touching.
