Holy defiance!
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo went to church on Sunday and blamed the “cancel culture” for his forced resignation last year, jabbing the media and “political sharks” as well, according to the New York Post. It was Cuomo’s first major public appearance since he resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment.
Cuomo spoke for about 25 minutes during a scheduled appearance at God’s Battalion of Prayer in East Flatbush in Brooklyn.
“As you probably know, I’ve gone through a difficult period the past few months. I resigned as governor, the press roasted me, my colleagues were ridiculed, my brother was fired,” he said. “It was ugly.”
Cuomo resigned under a cloud in August. His brother, Chris Cuomo, was later fired by CNN.
“They broke my heart, but they didn’t break my spirit.
I want to take the energy that could make me bitter and use it to make us better.
Not for me – but for others.
And again, it starts with the truth.” – Andrew Cuomo @andrewcuomo #TeamCuomo https://t.co/iXRelN0zqV pic.twitter.com/qWYG7Rw1PR
— E Pluribus Unum New York ? (@EpluribusUnumNY) March 6, 2022
“It was probably the toughest time of my life, and it was probably the first time that I was glad my father wasn’t here with us anymore, so he didn’t have to see,” he added, referring to his late father and former three-term governor of New York, Mario Cuomo.
The Post report said Cuomo used the word “cancel” at least 25 times.
“My father, God rest his soul, used to say government is an honorable profession but that politics can be a dirty business,” he said. “Now that is especially true today, when the politics out there is so mean and so extreme, when even the Democratic Party chooses to cancel people that they have a disagreement with.”
“My behavior has been the same for 40 years in public life. … But that was actually the problem. Because for some people, especially younger people, there’s a new sensitivity. No one ever told me I made them feel uncomfortable. I never sensed that I caused anyone discomfort. I was trying to do the exact opposite,” said Cuomo.
Andrew Cuomo is claiming he’s a victim of cancel culture during a Brooklyn speech right now, after he chose to resign last summer following the results of a report that found he sexually harassed multiple women & 4 DAs independently substantiated the credibility of those claims. pic.twitter.com/pFhxybJLEB
— Bernadette Hogan (@bern_hogan) March 6, 2022
The only thing @andrewcuomo should be doing in a church is asking for forgiveness. https://t.co/uz71VbtTYL
— Janice Dean (@JaniceDean) March 6, 2022
“But I’ve been called old-fashioned, out-of-touch, and I’ve been told my behavior was not politically correct or appropriate. I accept that. Social norms evolve and they evolve quickly,” he added. “But I didn’t appreciate how fast their perspective changed. And I should have.”
Cuomo added that he is “truly, truly sorry” and that he “learned a powerful lesson.”
“Contrary to what my political opponents would have you believe, nothing I did violated the law or the regulations. I said from the start that I would defend any allegation that anyone wanted to bring, but the political sharks in Albany smelled blood. And then the sharks smell blood, then come,” he explained. “And they exploited the situation for their political purpose.”
THE CUOMO* BIG LIE
“They used cancel culture to effectively overturn an election … what happened to voting rights and democratic elections.” Cuomo says at Brooklyn church
*Cuomo willingly resigned to avoid impeachment re:sexual misconduct/nursing home coverup/self-enrichment pic.twitter.com/fPCbxqPib4
— Zach Williams (@ZachReports) March 6, 2022
Cuomo said Democrats who pushed in out of office “used cancel culture to effectively overturn an election,” referring to his 2018 election victory.
“The actions against me were prosecutorial misconduct,” Cuomo said, according to Bloomberg.
The campaign of New York State Attorney General Letitia James pushed back on the comments. James led the state’s investigation into Cuomo’s conduct.
“Serial sexual harasser Andrew Cuomo won’t even spare a house of worship from his lies,” Jamses’ campaign said in a statement, the Post reported. “Even though multiple independent investigations found his victims to be credible, Cuomo continues to blame everyone but himself. Cuomo wasn’t railroaded; he quit so he wouldn’t be impeached. New Yorkers are ready to move forward from this sick, pathetic man.”
Erica Vladimer, co-founder of the Sexual Harassment Working Group, also had a criticism of Cuomo to share.
“Cancel culture is a term people who don’t believe in accountability use to advance their own narrative. It’s an insult to those who truly see Sunday as a day of worship that he’d stand up in a church and continue spewing manipulative lies, instead of taking responsibility for the harm he caused and atoning for those sins.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
