TAPPER SLAMS STATUS CUO
CNN star anchor rips Chris Cuomo for coaching bro in sex-harass scandal
Jake Tapper has blasted fellow CNN anchor Chris Cuomo (right) for secretly advising his brother, Gov. Cuomo, on how to handle an explosion of sexualharassment allegations.
“I cannot imagine a world in which anybody in journalism thinks that that was appropriate,’’ said Tapper.
Jake Tapper has slammed fellow CNN anchor Chris Cuomo for secretly strategizing with Gov. Cuomo over the fallout from the sexual-harassment allegations against the governor.
“I cannot imagine a world in which anybody in journalism thinks that that was appropriate,’’ Tapper told The New York Times’ “Sway” podcast. Chris Cuomo (near left, with his brother), who hosts CNN’s “Cuomo Prime Time,” took part in conference calls with Gov. Cuomo and the governor’s aides this year to discuss how to handle the mounting allegations — with the TV talker insisting that his big brother not submit to “cancel culture” and resign, The Washington Post reported this month. Speaking to “Sway” host Kara Swisher, Tapper said he agreed with CNN’s statement that Chris Cuomo’s participation in the calls was “inappropriate” and noted that the host issued a mea culpa.
“He said, Chris, in his apology that he delivered on air, said that he put us in ‘a bad spot.’ And I would also agree with that,” Tapper told Swisher in the podcast episode released on Thursday.
“And then, just as a last point, I would say that I work very hard to be fair and to be ethical and to not cross lines. And I certainly understand the love that Chris has for his brother, and I have a brother, and I get it. “But that was not a fun day,” he added, apparently referring to when The Washington Post published its report on Chris Cuomo’s involvement in the strategy calls. A day after the report came out, Chris Cuomo admitted on air to “offering my brother advice.”
“It will not happen again,” he said. “It was a mistake because I put my colleagues here, who I believe are the best in the business, in a bad spot. I never intended for that, I would never intend for that, and I’m sorry for that.”
Gov. Cuomo has dismissed the criticism of his brother. “Obviously, [Chris] was aware of what was going on, and I talked to him about it, and he told me his thoughts,’’ the governor said. “He always tells me his thoughts. Sometimes I follow them, sometimes I don’t. He was not covering the story. He had recused himself from the story.”
Chris Cuomo has previously faced criticism for interviewing his brother during the COVID-19 pandemic — without ever addressing the scandal over the administration’s handling of nursing-home deaths from the virus.
CNN said that it had made an exception during the “extraordinary time” early in the pandemic to allow Chris Cuomo to interview his brother but that it had since reinstated a rule that prevented him from interviewing or covering him.
Gov. Cuomo has denied all sexual-misconduct allegations.
I cannot imagine a world in which anybody in journalism thinks that that was appropriate.
— CNN anchor Jake Tapper