New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is expressing his frustration with some members of the press after he was recently criticized for a fiery exchange he had with a reporter.
Speaking to WAMC’s Alan Chartock on Monday, Cuomo said there is a “nastier tone now with the press” and a “disrespect that never existed.”
He continued, “I’ve watched hundreds of press conferences over the years, if anyone used the tone that they use with me in some of these press conferences, if you did that with my old man you’d be lucky if he didn’t walk around and deck you.”
He also said that tone is not constrained to New York, as he said, “The way they question President Trump at some of these press conferences is just, I’ve never heard that tone with the President.”
Chartock suggested Trump “deserves” the treatment he has received from the press.
However, Cuomo pushed back, “Yeah, except there is supposed to be a decorum to the institution, right. You can not like the person or disrespect the person, but there is still an institution that each person represents.”
“There are reporters who just are unprofessional, don’t know the facts, and ask really biased questions. You have these reporters now who come from biased stations, right? We talk about the Post, etc. but you also have now the Fox equivalent on TV. So they come with a question that’s going to fit what their editor wants for that night. You have reporters who ask questions that are just really unintelligent.”
But, he said he tries to “get past that” because “I’m doing this to inform people through the press.”
He added, “Just because a person is a jerk doesn’t mean that person doesn’t count. I think the same is true with an elected official.”
“You want to say, ‘Well, I don’t like the president, and I disrespect him.’ I know, but it’s still the Office of the President.”
On Thursday, Cuomo clashed with a reporter over the guidelines for when schools would close due to a spike in coronavirus cases.
Watch the exchange below (starting at 19:20):
After the reporter suggested that parents were confused about the procedures for the decision surrounding school closures, Cuomo said, “They’re not confused, you’re confused.”
Cuomo was roundly criticized for his handling of the question.