19 April 2021: Cuomo Poll Numbers Tank, Governor Dismisses Polls

Cuomo favorability rating keeps dropping amid scandals, more voters believe he committed sexual harassment

Governor Cuomo's poll numbers on his job performance are now well underwater, a dramatic reversal from a year ago. The only good news for the governor is that 51% of polled New Yorkers say he should not resign, which is the polling equivalent of treading water.

Embattled Gov. Andrew Cuomo's approval, favorable ratings and reelection numbers among New Yorkers are all sinking, according to a new poll, as the three-term Democratic governor faces a chorus of calls to step down amid numerous sexual harassment allegations from former staffers and a federal probe into whether his administration covered up the deaths of nursing home residents from the coronavirus.

Only 40% of New Yorkers have a favorable opinion of Cuomo in a Siena College survey released on Monday, with 52% saying they see their governor in an unfavorable light. That's down from 43%-45% in March and 56%-39% in February.

Cuomo's job performance in the poll, which was conducted April 11-15, stands at 42% approval and 56% disapproval. That's down from 46%-52% in March and 51%-47% in February.

But a majority of New Yorkers – 51%-37% – say that Cuomo shouldn't resign, which is basically unchanged from a month ago. And by a 52%-38% margin they say he can effectively do his job as governor, down from 48%-34% in March.

But as we'll see, Governor Cuomo doesn't believe the poll numbers....

Cuomo dismisses tumbling poll numbers, refuses to reveal how much he made on his book

This report follows up the earlier story about Governor Cuomo's falling poll numbers:

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo brushed off his tumbling poll numbers on Monday, noting that he maintained a high approval rating for his handling of the pandemic.

His comments came after a Siena College poll showed declines in his favorability, job performance and reelection ratings.

When asked about the numbers, he said: "I don't know, I don't know what that means, I don't know how people can say you're doing a good job but the favorable goes down. So, you know, they do these polls all the time. To tell you the truth, I don't put too much stock into them. We're working very hard on the pandemic."

He added: "New York's success in dealing with COVID is inarguable ... I'm going to focus on my job. That's what I’ve always done, and you know public opinion goes up, it goes down, but if you're doing job and people respect the job you're doing, to me there's no more important barometer than that."

The last we checked, New York was the worst state in all the U.S., especially for the deaths of seniors Age 65 or older who were the most vulnerable portion of the population for COVID-19, so claiming New York as an inarguable example of success during the coronavirus pandemic is a really strange thing to emphasize.

Meanwhile, Governor Cuomo was also asked about how much he made from his pandemic leadership book deal, but chose to punt on answering:

Cuomo also declined when asked to say how much money he made from his book about his leadership during the pandemic. Instead, he said the numbers would be released as part of his income tax returns.

"I probably am unique in the nation -- I'll give you something to play with. What public official in the United States has released more taxes -- personal income taxes -- for a longer period of time than I have," he said.

"I bet you I've released my personal income taxes for the past 20 years, and I will do that again this year. And you will see everything you want to see in the personal income taxes."

You will also see everything Governor Cuomo wants you to see in the personal income taxes. In his tax return for 2020, you will also see only the portion of the Governor's book deal that was paid in 2020, and not any amount that might be paid in 2021 or in later years. That money would remain hidden for at least another year.

What you will not see is the publishing contract specifying what the total of those payments might be or in what forms Governor Cuomo's total compensation might be, or to whom it directs be compensated.

On that last point, remember that if Governor Cuomo, his PR people, or his lawyers thought that information would paint Governor Cuomo in either a favorable or even a neutral light, he wouldn't be jerking reporters around by pointing to his tax returns instead of making the publishing contract a public document.

In his pandemic leadership book, Governor Cuomo proclaimed the value of transparency. How highly would you say he ranks on that scale?