Alexis Grenell, who was Cuomo’s deputy director of intergovernmental affairs when he was state attorney general, has attacked her former boss for penning a book about COVID-19 while the pandemic is still raging.
Grenell hit out at Cuomo in a column in the Nation titled “The Collapse of the Cuomosexual” — as Cuomo is affectionately known by his political supporters.
Grenell told the New York Post that Cuomo had received plenty of plaudits during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic but she said that he was now seeking to cash in on his popularity.
She described Cuomo’s promotion of his book “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic” as an act of hubris — likening it to Winston Churchill writing the history of World War II while still fighting it.
Cuomo won an Emmy Award for his televised conferences, where he personalised the impact of the virus on his family while providing key information to the public.
She described it as “genuinely depressing” that the governor is “so eager to be flattered by Ben Stiller,” who congratulated him for the award.
Grenell believes that in recent weeks Cuomo has gone back to being his usual antagonistic self, noting that his mask fell earlier this month when challenged by the press.
She notes that he lashed out at reporters, calling them “obnoxious and offensive” after they asked questions about whether New York City’s public schools would be shut down the next day because of rising COVID-19 infections.
“The self-described ‘cool dude in a loose mood,’ threw a Trump-style tantrum,” she said.
Grenell said Cuomo “undeniably offered a vision of competent, humane government at the height of the crisis,” with the rider that “this is who he is the rest of the time.”
“The snarling attack dog who gaslights fellow Democrats and deploys staff to call his female critics ‘f—-g idiots,’ dropped down to Earth last week. It was a hard landing after a long-distance love affair with a fanbase in a galaxy far, far away,” added Grenell, as quoted by the New York Post.
Cuomo senior adviser Richard Azzopardi, asked about Grenell’s comments, said, “We’re focused on the pandemic, not the musings of brand-building political consultants. Everyone has a right to an opinion, as consistently wrong as they may be.”
Cuomo was heavily criticised online after winning the Emmy. Some said that he should not have received the award for just doing his job.
But Cuomo remains popular among New Yorkers, according to recent polls. Sixty-three percent of responders approved of his handling of the pandemic, 56 percent view him favorably and 54 percent approve of his job performance.
But only 51 percent of New Yorkers said they would back Cuomo if he seeks re-election to a fourth term in 2022, while 42 percent said they would prefer someone else.
Cuomo was also recently nominated as Time’s Person of the Year, along with Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has spearheaded the United States response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
