Joe Concha: CNN's Chris Cuomo 'shouldn’t play a TV anchor anymore' after fawning over brother

CNN’s Chris Cuomo continues to come under fire for his series of widely panned interviews with his older brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, that include constant praise of the governor despite the ongoing nursing home tragedy in his state.

“Governor Cuomo, in terms of his performance, for Chris Cuomo to say that he is wowed by it, and how he did it, shows that he shouldn’t play a TV anchor anymore, he should go work for the Cuomo campaign if and when he runs for president, and be his spokesman because that’s basically, it appears, to be his job at this point,” The Hill media reporter Joe Concha told Trace Gallagher on “America’s Newsroom” on Friday.

CNN'S CHRIS CUOMO BLASTED FOR DECLARING BROTHER 'BEST POLITICIAN IN THE COUNTRY' ON HIS SHOW

The frequent and fawning interviews between the siblings have been seen as a major conflict of interest throughout the coronavirus outbreak, especially over the past several weeks as scrutiny over the governor's handling of nursing homes in his state intensified. The brothers often joke around, poke fun at each other and have even attempted prop comedy.

The latest interview between the Cuomo brothers marked their 11th on-air chat since the coronavirus pandemic began – but it was the first time Chris Cuomo asked his brother about the growing nursing home controversy that had been dogging the New York governor. Concha noted the lack of questions regarding the nursing home deaths and added that the governor has not exactly been transparent regarding why it took him so long to clean up the subway system as coronavirus spread.

“’Keeping Up With the Cuomos’ is one nickname that this has received, off the Kardashian series... and rightly so... This was eviscerated from all sides,” Concha said.

CNN'S CHRIS CUOMO FINALLY ASKS BROTHER SOFTBALL QUESTION ABOUT NY NURSING HOME CONTROVERSY

Concha noted that Glenn Greenwald called the recent CNN interview “one of the most embarrassing and self-destructive things I've seen a news outlet do” and said North Korean state TV wouldn’t even allow such a thing.

Concha also criticized the CNN host for bragging about New York’s coronavirus numbers during a chat with his brother.

“OK, let’s look at the numbers. Six-thousand people died in nursing homes in New York state. Put that in contrast, that is more than the death toll of 43 U.S. States, 37 countries,” Concha said.

CNN'S LATEST LOVEFEST CUOMO BROTHERS LOVEFEST SLAMMED: 'SHAM OF JOURNALISTIC PRINICPLES,' 'CLEAR CONFLICT OF INTEREST

While the Cuomo brothers have been repeatedly panned for their playful chats for months, many critics feel it reached a peak Wednesday night when the “Cuomo Prime Time” namesake admitted he isn’t objective when covering his sibling.

“Obviously, I love you as a brother. Obviously, I'll never be objective. Obviously, I think you're the best politician in the country,” the CNN host said.

A trio of professors expressed concerns on Thursday about the ethical dilemma that CNN has created by allowing Chris Cuomo to regularly interview his brother.

CUOMO BROTHERS' JOKEY CNN INTERVIEW IGNORING NURSING HOME CONTROVERSY SPARKS OUTRAGE

DePauw University professor and media critic Jeffrey McCall told Fox News he understands “Chris Cuomo won't be objective when it comes to reporting about or interviewing his brother,” but feels someone at the network should have stepped in long ago and the routine is damaging to journalism.

“What is not understandable, and is quite unacceptable, is that CNN's hierarchy allows such a clear conflict of interest in what is supposed to be a journalistic platform,” McCall said.

“This obvious coziness of a news program and the governor of a large state just looks bad for CNN and the journalism industry as a whole,” McCall added. “CNN might think this Cuomo-Cuomo tag team makes for heartwarming and fuzzy entertainment, but it makes a sham of journalistic principles. Public trust in the media institution is low enough as it is, without these kinds of avoidable stunts.”

Cornell Law School professor and media critic William A. Jacobson told Fox News, "Is CNN a news operation? If so, it is inappropriate for it repeatedly to have this bizarre display of 'brotherly love' during a purported news broadcast, where one brother is serving as cheerleader for his politician sibling."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

University of North Carolina professor Lois Boynton is a fellow in the University’s Parr Center for Ethics. She feels Chris is the “more emotional” of the siblings on-air and feels it was smart for the CNN host to admit he can’t be objective.

“It would be problematic if he tried to claim objectivity when interviewing or covering Gov. Cuomo,” Boynton told Fox News.

“After that, it depends on the intent of these exchanges. If CNN is going for objective news reporting about the governor’s track record, then someone other than his brother should do the reporting and get differing perspectives that would allow viewers to form their own conclusions,” Boynton said.

Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.