Cuomo pretends not to be a chicken

Days that Cuomo has refused to debate Republican n Marc Molinaro

He’s still ducking. Gov. Cuomo spent a lot of time Friday talking about why he hasn’t agreed to a debate with GOP rival Marc Molinaro.

The governor came up with a lot of excuses. He set conditions. And he made an offer Molinaro could easily refuse — how about we do it on radio the next day, Saturday — at around 8 a.m.

In the end, all the Republican got was chicken feed.

The debate issue hounded Cuomo in two radio appearances after The Post depicted him in a chicken suit on the front page, asking why he’s afraid to discuss the issues with his chief opponent as the Nov. 6 election approaches.

During a call-in to WCBS radio to push for a new cross-harbor tunnel, the questions soon turned to the debate.

Out of the blue, he suddenly tossed out an offer for a showdown — but only if Molinaro was ready to go the next day.

“I am here, you want to call me tomorrow, I will be here,” Cuomo said. “If you want to do it with Mr. Molinaro, I will be here.”

He also set a condition: “There has to be a moderator who keeps the conversation relatively substantive .” Molinaro quickly cried fowl. “The governor is trying to check a box so he doesn’t have a chicken suit on the cover of the New York Post for the next week,” he said.

“I am not going to be part of a fraud. It’s a fraud to suggest the voters have some benefit from a last-minute scheduling.”

Instead, his campaign said he would debate any weekday if TV cameras were included.

Cuomo’s campaign didn’t spond to the offer.

So after a lot of discussion about debates, at the end of the day nothing had changed.

Earlier on WINS radio, Cuomo claimed Molinaro didn’t deserve to be on the same stage with him.

“My opponent hasn’t put forward any significant ideas. He invited hate groups to speak in New York,” Cuomo said.

But the Manhattan Republican Party said Molinaro played no role in its speaking invitation last week to the founder of the confrontational Proud Boys.

Cuomo criticized The Post for “playing politics” in promoting the debate issue — even though newspapers throughout the state made the same point.

Late Friday, the League of Women Voters said four of the five gubernatorial candidates had agreed to join a debate it was sponsoring.

Cuomo was the only holdout.