Governor Cuomo disinvited his 89-year-old mother from Thanksgiving dinner on Monday night after being branded a ‘hypocrite’ for planning a party with her and his daughter, who lives out of state, while telling New Yorkers to keep their own celebrations to their own households.
Cuomo was slammed after letting slip during a radio interview that he’d invited his 89-year-old mother Matilda to have dinner with him and two of his three daughters.
He wanted to drive to Chicago to pick up his third daughter, Michaela, and bring her home to join them but she said it was not safe.
New York’s rule is that no more than 10 people can gather but the CDC says people should not mix households.
Cuomo was blasted by critics who called him a ‘hypocrite’ for inviting his elderly mother.
On Tuesday morning, he said he’d phoned his mother to tell her she could no longer come on Monday night. She then phoned him back this morning because, he said, she ‘doesn’t understand’.
He later told journalists he made the decision because has no time to quarantine for three days before seeing his mother.
Andrew Cuomo was on Monday forced to cancel his Thanksgiving plans hours after saying his 89-year-old mom, pictured together, and and two of his daughters were coming to dinner
The New York governor had told WAMC : ‘My mom is going to come up and two of my girls is the current plan. But the plans change. But that’s my plan’. He is pictured with his daughters, Michaela, far left, Cara, second left, and Mariah, right
‘I could have stayed home after yesterday until Thanksgiving, quarantined for three days and then taken a test and had no exposure, that would have been safer but that would have been reasonable and safe for my mother.
‘But I have to work today and tomorrow so I wouldn’t, it’s too risky to see my mother.
‘I never said to anyone “you should be alone.” The CDC’s guidance is only your household. Ours is no more than 10. You can be with your mother. Safe is you should be quarantined, removed from other people, and take a test.
‘I’m not in a position to do that,’ he said.
He went on: ‘People should celebrate Thanksgiving just do it smartly and intelligently. You can be with four people.’
Cuomo, in his first press conference of the day, offered no remorse and admitted no wrongdoing. He just said: ‘My mother I didn’t have the heart to talk to until last night.’
‘She just doesn’t understand it.
‘I had to talk to her last night, she had to call me back this morning to go through the same thing: “I don’t understand, you haven’t seen your sisters in along time, your nieces, your nephews in a long time, I don’t understand it.”
‘This is Thanksgiving at 89-years-old… there’s never been a Thanksgiving like this in her life. She’s wondering how may more Thanksgivings she has left,’ he said.
The New York governor had told WAMC: ‘My mom is going to come up and two of my girls is the current plan. But the plans change. But that’s my plan.’
His comments sparked a fierce backlash online with Twitter users, including Meghan McCain, noting Cuomo had urged others to stay home over the holidays.
The Democrat’s office later confirmed he had canceled those plans, saying the governor will now work ‘given the current circumstances with COVID’.
The Democrat’s office later confirmed he had canceled his Thanksgiving plans. He is pictured enjoying dinner with his daughters Michaela, 23, Cara, 25, and Mariah, 25
Senior adviser Rich Azzopardi said: ‘As the Governor said, ‘The story is my mom is going to come up and two of my girls is the current plan, but the plans change.
‘That’s my plan. I’m going to work — I’ve got a lot of work to do between now and Thanksgiving,’ and given the current circumstances with COVID, he will have to work through Thanksgiving and will not be seeing them.’
Azzopardi added: ‘Don’t tell his mom — she doesn’t know yet.’
The state was on Monday forced to reopen the Staten Island field hospital, at the South Beach Psychiatric Center, amid concerning COVID rates there with the number of hospitalizations tripling from 33 on November 2 to 91 on Sunday.
Across New York state the number of people hospitalized with the virus has more than doubled from 1,227 on November 2 to 2,724 on Sunday; more than 26,000 people have died since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Twitter users had been quick to condemn Cuomo, who has three daughters Michaela, 23, Cara, 25, and Mariah, 25, after he revealed his earlier plans.
The View panelist McCain wrote: ‘You’ve GOT to be kidding me.’
CNN reporter Jeremy Diamond said: ‘So first Gov. Cuomo urges people (wisely!) to limit Thanksgiving to people in their household. Now he invites his elderly mother & daughters over??’
Washington Post reporter Christopher Ingraham added: ‘Un-freaking-believable.
‘Now more than ever, people are looking to elected leaders for signals on how to mitigate risk. Is it any wonder so many aren’t following health guidelines? And this is the allegedly pro-science party!’
Representative Elise Stefanik tweeted: ‘His arrogance and hypocrisy knows no bounds. Do as I say, not as I do.’
New York state has averaged nearly 5,500 new confirmed cases per day over the past seven days. Hospitals and nursing homes have reported 665 COVID-19 deaths in the state over the past 30 days — more than in July, August and September combined.
Cuomo’s comments sparked a fierce backlash online with Twitter users, including Meghan McCain, noting Cuomo had urged others to stay home over the holidays
New Yorkers must keep any Thanksgiving gatherings to 10 people.
Cuomo has been careful not to warn people too specifically about what they can and cannot do.
‘Your family sounds safe, doesn’t it? No, you won’t be safe. It’s an illusion. My sister loves me. My sister could infect me — not maliciously, but accidentally,’ he said.
‘My personal advice is you don’t have family gatherings — even for Thanksgiving.’
He has cached that since by saying he means don’t have extended family Thanksgiving dinners beyond 10 people.
The CDC is advising against travel and says people should not mix outside their households.
Cuomo also announced Monday he is reopening an emergency COVID-19 field hospital on Staten Island, the first such facility in the state to relaunch since the state partly tamed the pandemic over the summer.
‘The hospitals have contacted us, and they say they need emergency beds on Staten Island,’ Cuomo told reporters at a briefing at his Manhattan office Monday.
Staten Island has averaged 209 new cases of COVID-19 per day over the past seven days — up 86 percent from two weeks ago.
Cuomo on Monday accepted his Emmy for ‘masterful’ use of TV with his COVID-19 press conferences after being lauded by stars including Robert DeNiro, Billy Joel, Ben Stiller and Spike Lee.
Cuomo on Monday accepted his Emmy for ‘masterful’ use of TV with his COVID-19 press conferences after being lauded by stars including Robert DeNiro, Billy Joel, Ben Stiller and Spike Lee
The state was on Monday forced to reopen the Staten Island field hospital, at the South Beach Psychiatric Center, amid concerning COVID rates there with the number of hospitalizations tripling from 33 on November 2 to 91 on Sunday
Several parts of New York City and New York state are seeing spikes in COVID cases. They are highlighted
He was last week slammed for being given the award when his state had by far the worst COVID problem of anywhere in the country and when he made decisions like sending thousands of elderly patients back into nursing homes which triggered thousands more deaths.
Despite that, Cuomo has written a book about the pandemic titled Lessons in Leadership and received the International Founders Emmy.
On Monday, he accepted it virtually after being praised by Bruce Paisner, International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, who said: ‘One man took it upon himself to use technology to spread information and tell citizens what to do.
‘Governor Cuomo’s daily press conferences were a whole new dimension of public education. He informed, he demanded and he calmed people down. No one who saw it will easily forget it.’
