The Fall of Andrew Cuomo

Pandemic hero turned political failure, Democratic Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo is the latest politician to have fallen from their pedestal. 

In the early stages of the pandemic Andrew Cuomo was praised for his handling of the COVID-19 outbreak. Despite New York being a COVID-19 hotspot because of its dense population, Cuomo had the trust and appraisal of his constituents, as well as Dr. Andew Fauci, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other experts alike. Cuomo was praised for his “calm, composed, and candid” leadership during such unprecedented times. He became the face of what some people believed to be proper leadership, even going on to publish a book in Oct. of 2020 called: “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic”

 Now, the publisher of that book has stopped promoting it. Cuomo has had a fall from grace like no other. Both his career and his character have been called into question in devastating ways.

 One of Cuomo’s most questionable pandemic orders stated “No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the [nursing home] solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19” as stated by Cuomo’s advisory. Many people were not happy with this order to begin with, as the elderly have the highest COVID fatality risk. It has now been uncovered that the reported number of fatalities is much, much higher than the public was once told. 

The reported number of nursing home deaths was on record as 6,432. This information was put out in a report compiled by the New York State Health Department, released in July of 2020. In March of 2021, the public has come to learn that the number is actually about 15,000. The NY State Health Department received pressure to lower the number from some of Cuomo’s senior aides, one of the accused is a former ethics professor. 

Amid this scandal, seven women have also stepped forward accusing the current New York Governor of sexual harassment as well as workplace misconduct. These claims come from a variety of women, including current and former employees and reporters. While Cuomo has denied any claims of sexual harassment, he has apologized for “acting in a way that made people feel uncomfortable” even though he says that was never his direct intention. 

While hanging onto his career by a thread, Cuomo has lost the support of his party. Big names, such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Shumer have spoken out against Cuomo. 12 of the 19 house Democrats from New York, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have called on Cuomo to step down and resign. 

Despite the allegations, the investigation, and the impeachment inquiry, Cuomo has made it clear that the last thing he intends to do is resign, stating he “will not bow to cancel culture.”  But how do you govern people whose’ trust you have broken?