CNN's Chris Cuomo claims media didn't criticize interviews with older brother because they were 'so popular'

CNN's Chris Cuomo claimed Tuesday that "the media" didn't more strongly criticize his chummy interviews with older brother New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D., at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic because they were "so popular."

The decision by CNN to allow its top-rated primetime host to interview a member of his family in what often were unserious, joking conversations has come under fresh scrutiny as Gov. Cuomo endures dual scandals. 

"I get why the media didn't like the decision then," Chris Cuomo said on his radio program. "They just didn't say as much, because it was so popular. And I get why they're saying it now. But the idea that you don't think I should have had him on and now therefore I should have him on? That is illogical."

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It wasn't popular with everyone. The Atlantic's David Graham said CNN was picking "ratings over ethics" in a piece last May, and Columbia Journalism Review questioned if he should "be allowed to interview a family member in a journalistic setting" in April. Many conservative commentators contrasted the friendly interviews with CNN's overwhelmingly negative coverage of the Trump administration's pandemic response. 

The younger Cuomo broke his on-air silence Monday on the myriad scandals gripping his brother, which include multiple accusations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior, in addition to accusations of covering up coronavirus nursing home deaths to avoid a federal investigation.

"Obviously I cannot cover it because he is my brother. Now, of course, CNN has to cover it. They have covered it extensively and they will continue to do so," Cuomo said on Monday.

Cuomo said Tuesday that his interviews with his brother were borne out of feeling "a need for people to be able to connect with things that were familiar and that gave them a sense of hope."

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"And I know I was right because I've never had people come out and say 'thank you' the way you have for doing that," he said.

He added it was wrong to think his lack of attention to the sexual harassment stories showed he didn't care about the issue.

He interviewed his brother nine times between March and June of last year, where they discussed serious issues like the younger Cuomo's recovery from coronavirus and battling the pandemic in New York, but they also teased each other about their mother and even did prop comedy.

It was during that period that Gov. Cuomo issued his directive for nursing homes to accept COVID-positive patients, which may have led to thousands of preventable deaths, and is at the heart of an investigation into whether he covered up the numbers to avoid a federal investigation.

The two also joked about Gov. Cuomo's love life, with Chris often calling him the "Love Gov" and asking if he was "single and ready to mingle."

Gov. Cuomo enjoyed highly favorable media attention during 2020 for his coronavirus response. His younger brother told him he was in "awe" of how he handled the pandemic, and CNN's Brian Stelter said he would pass along Gov. Cuomo's advice on adversity to his own children. He even won an Emmy for his daily press conferences.

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While criticized in some corners of the press at the time, entertainment outlets delighted in their interplay; NBC's "TODAY" gushed over the Cuomos providing "comic relief during a difficult time."

The praise wasn't just from entertainment media. The Washington Post's liberal media columnist Margaret Sullivan called the Cuomos "surprisingly addictive viewing" last April. She quoted critics noting the clear conflict of interest but concluded it was "pretty harmless stuff." On Tuesday, she wrote her original judgment was too "lenient" and Cuomo's explanation for not covering his brother's issues was "convenient and slippery."

The Associated Press enjoyed the "teasing big brother-little brother dynamic," and Vanity Fair said their interviews had "already spiraled in all sorts of directions, whether out of the need for distractions, heroes, or points of clarification."

As Cuomo's nursing home scandal grew over the past month, some outlets came out firing on the Cuomo brothers. The Washington Post and Associated Press published sharp criticisms of CNN last month.

CNN admitted it lifted a ban on Cuomo interviewing his powerful brother due to the "extraordinary" early period of the pandemic and has since reinstated it.

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"Now the rule is back, conveniently at a time when the governor is getting a battered for his mishandling of this tragedy," Fox News "MediaBuzz" host Howard Kurtz told "America's Newsroom" in February.