Following a series of sexual harassment allegations, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, since dubbed the “Love Gov,” made a public “apology” at a press conference Wednesday, if you could even call it one.
After facing heat from both democrats and republicans, the “apology” seemed nothing but forced, phoney and selfish.
Let’s look at how the mainstream media covered it.
“‘The knives come out’: Cuomo fights for political survival as pressure mounts” - NBC News
NBC took an interesting route in their coverage. They began their piece using big words like “unflappable” and “trepidation” to seemingly distract from the real story at hand. They glorified Cuomo’s coronavirus response, touting the daily press conferences that earned him an Emmy.
“Wanting to show that he was in control of the coronavirus pandemic, he held daily news conferences that made him nationally famous in contrast to a floundering federal response,” the piece reads.
Then they dove into the allegations.
“And on Wednesday, facing his worst political crisis, he tried to give the perceptiont that he was in control of very seirous allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior, even though it was far from clear that he really was,” it read. “He publicly apologized to the women who said he sexually harassed them while letting those who’ve been calling for his ouster know he’s not planning on going anywhere,” it continued.
Though they did not necessarily defend Cuomo’s actions, this article pales in comparison to pieces they’ve written about conservatives under similar circumstances.
For example, Brett Kavanaugh.
Here are a few headlines.
“Senate probed new allegation of misconduct against Kavanaugh” - NBC News
“Some Democrats call for Kavanaugh impeachment over new sexual misconduct claims” - NBC News
“Kavanaugh denies allegations by woman who says he tried to force himself on her in the 1980s” - NBC News
All of these headlines made sure to explicitly give readers every reason to hate Kavanaugh. Meanwhile, their Cuomo story seemed to protect him by using cryptic language and avoiding descriptors like, let’s see, “sexual harassment allegations,” perhaps.
“Cuomo issues public apology in wake of scandal, says he won’t resign” - Good Morning America
ABC’s Good Morning America covered this pretty fairly.
They got to the point straight off the bat: “New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday addressed the sexual harassment scandal he’s facing and apologized for his actions.”
They did, however, seem to encourage forgiveness.
“Cuomo pledged his full cooperation with the state attorney general’s investigation and urged New Yorkers to ‘wait for the facts to come out,’” the piece reads.
“Cuomo apologizes, says he didn’t know he was making women uncomfortable and rejects calls to resign” - CNN
Now, it is no secret that CNN will go to great lengths to protect Cuomo since his brother, Chris, is one of the face’s of the network.
Starting at the headline, they tried to take the target off Cuomo’s back by urging that he did not mean to cause any harm.
He didn’t know what he was doing.
Poor Cuomo, they seem to hint.
“New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo emerged on Wednesday after more than a week away from the cameras to apologize for his behavior after two women accused him of sexual harassment and another alleged an unwanted advance, saying he didn’t know he was ‘making anyone feel uncomfortable,’” the article reads.
“Cuomo seized the news conference spotlight in an effort to push back against calls for him to immediately step down,” it continues.
Other CNN headlines include:
“Cuomo says he has no plans to resign”
“Gov. Andrew Cuomo addresses women’s allegations”
Get to the point, CNN.
Indeed, Cuomo is not the only politician that has faced scandal. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, appointed by President Trump, was also accused of sexual misconduct and the media made sure to cover it for days, weeks, months and even years. They essentially beat the dead horse. But, the mainstream media only truly cared about one of the stories and it certainly isn’t Cuomo’s ongoing scandal. They cover it because they know they have to, but the way they cover it speaks volumes.
