3 February 2022: CNN's Top Management Coached Andrew M. Cuomo for COVID Briefings

Zucker, Gollust’s cozy ties with Andrew Cuomo included coaching him on COVID briefings

This report digs into the role that CNN's CEO Jeff Zucker and Chief Marketing Officer and executive vice president Allison Gollust had in coaching resigned-in-disgrace New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo during his daily coronavirus pandemic briefings in 2020. It confirms both are members of Cuomo's influence network, which mostly consists of former Cuomo staffers who moved into positions of authority in various activist and media organizations, where they worked to promote Cuomo's political interests.

CNN boss Jeff Zucker and his paramour Allison Gollust had an inappropriately close friendship with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — personally calling him to do news segments with his brother Chris Cuomo and even coaching him on what to say during his infamous COVID briefings, The Post has learned.

Gollust and Zucker — the latter of whom dramatically quit CNN Wednesday after their affair was exposed — also gave Andrew Cuomo endless positive coverage because of their relationship, sources said.

“While those 11:30 a.m. daily briefings by Andrew were across every network, they boosted ratings in a poorly performing slot for CNN,” one source said.

According to a source to Cuomo, “Zucker and Gollust even advised Andrew what to say — how to respond and particularly how to hit back at [President Donald] Trump to make it more compelling TV.

CNN's journalistic reputation didn't get shredded by accident.

Meanwhile, the question of why Cuomo influence network member Allison Gollust is still employed at CNN remains unsanswered.