Tennessee law professor slams Gov. Cuomo's 'out of touch' comments on jobless New Yorkers

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TN law professor slams Cuomo's 'out of touch' comments

Tennessee law professor Glenn Reynolds told 'Fox & Friends' people will not follow 'entitled and spoiled' leaders during COVID-19 pandemic

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Politicians who act as if there is a double standard for them during the coronavirus pandemic will not be taken seriously by their constituents, University of Tennessee law professor Glenn Reynolds asserted Thursday.

In an interview on "Fox & Friends" with host Brian Kilmeade, Reynolds said that the outbreak has been a "bad showing" for many of the "political ruling class," including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

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In a daily press briefing on Wednesday, Cuomo told a reporter if residents wanted to go back to work, they should take a job as an essential worker in a different field to their previous job.

"That's super insensitive and stupid. I mean, 'let them eat essential jobs,' right? That's basically his line," Reynolds remarked.

FILE - IN this March 24, 2020 file photo, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a news conference in New York. President Donald Trump declared that states could “call your own shots” in determining how and when to loosen restrictions on businesses and social gatherings. Clusters of states representing the vast majority of Americans have decided cooperation in dealing with the coronavirus is the better option. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

"Look, I have friends in New York who are sending me pictures of lines at soup kitchens and food pantries and I don't think those people are going to be able to get jobs as essential workers," he continued. "And, what if you have got a family business that you maintain that's in trouble now? You know, going and taking a job as a flagman on a highway construction project is not going to save your family business."

Reynolds said Cuomo's flippant comment highlights just how "out of touch" much of our leadership is.

"And, I think he should look closer to home at his brother Chris Cuomo [who] got caught breaking quarantine when he was recovering from coronavirus and then went out and attacked the guy on the bicycle who called him out," he added.

CNN host Chris Cuomo, his wife Cristina, and now their 14-year-old son Mario have all tested positive for the contagion.

"And, that goes to another thing: this double standard. You know Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot who went and got her hair done illicitly because she said she is in the public eye...Again, if your leaders don't act like leaders, if they act entitled and spoiled, people aren't' going to take them seriously and they're not going to do what they re asked to do," Reynolds stated.

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"And, that's a failure of leadership," he said, "and it doesn't do any good to try to blame people for not acting the way you want them to if you yourself don't have the necessary self-control and self-discipline to be an effective leader."