Thursday, May 20, 2021

20 May 2021: "That's Stupid. Next Question" - Governor Cuomo Responds to Reporter's Question About Pandemic Book Deal

Andrew Cuomo Scoffs at Question That His Book Profited Off COVID Deaths: ‘That’s Stupid’ (Video)

Fireworks at Governor Cuomo's 20 May 2021 news briefing:

On Thursday, Cuomo fielded questions from reporters for the first time since releasing his 2020 tax return, which revealed that his publisher is scheduled to pay him more than $5 million for writing the book, “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

At the news conference, one reporter asked the governor whether this hefty salary for the book on pandemic leadership was paid “off the backs of dead New Yorkers.”

“That’s stupid,” Cuomo replied, “Next question.”

That wasn't the only interchange during the news briefing:

Later in the conference, the same journalist took the opportunity to follow-up and ask Cuomo to elaborate on why he dismisses the criticism as “stupid.”

“I thought your question was stupid and offensive,” Cuomo said.

“I wrote a book saying, ‘This is what we should learn from what has happened so far with COVID because we’re not done and it’s going to continue, and if we don’t learn the lessons, we’re going to continue to make the same mistakes.'” He continued, “That’s why I wrote the book, and by the way, that’s what happened.”

Related coverage from the timeline:

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