Media top headlines April 29
A racial slur about Tim Scott trending on Twitter and more round out today’s top media headlines.
A glance at the title of New York Times bestselling author Matt Palumbo’s new book "Dumb and Dumber: How Cuomo and de Blasio Ruined New York" may have readers wondering, who’s "Dumb" and who’s "Dumber?" Palumbo says that between the two men he’s written about, he hasn’t quite made up his mind.
"That is the million dollar question," Palumbo, who also serves as The Dan Bongino Show's "resident fact checker," told Fox News this week. "I haven’t entirely made up my mind, but probably de Blasio."
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Palumbo said, is more like the politically calculating "House of Cards" character Frank Underwood, whereas New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is an "ideologue cut from the same cloth of a 60s radical." Despite their shared residence in the Democratic Party, the two men have feuded throughout their political careers.
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 2: New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio speak during a news conference on the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in New York on March 2, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
Cuomo and de Blasio, Palumbo argues, have united in an effort to destroy New York both socially and economically. He pinpointed a few specific ways the duo cemented the state's downfall, in his view: Their failed leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuomo’s nursing home scandal cover-up, and the decline of law and order through a liberal take on policing, such as slashing the New York City police department's budget or enacting dangerous bail reform laws.
NY CITY COUNCIL APPROVES SLASHING $1B FROM NYPD BUDGET
Much has been reported about Cuomo’s nursing home mandate enacted last March that forced recovering COVID patients into nursing homes. Critics and grieving New Yorkers believe his mandate resulted in thousands of unnecessary deaths. A new New York Times report this week found senior aides for the governor purposely sought to prevent state health officials from releasing the true death toll.
That was only one of the scandals the governor faced this past year. Several women, including former aides, have come forward to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment.
He has denied any inappropriate behavior, but members of the media have noticably turned on him. New York state legislators and high profile officials have called on him to resign, among them de Blasio and New York Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.
But Palumbo doubts there will be any accountability, arguing that Cuomo learned from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, who ignored calls to resign amid his blackface scandal in 2019.
"He learned a lot from Ralph Northam," Palumbo said. "If you’re a Democrat, you can just ignore a scandal for a week or two and forget about it."
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But, "reality is setting in," the author notes. If there is any accountability, Palumbo predicts it’ll be "largely symbolic." There’s an election coming in 2022 and Palumbo says that while Cuomo probably won’t be forced to step down, he could be voted out of office.
The Empire State's economy has seen better days as well. New York, Palumbo notes, is "the No. 1 state hemorrhaging residents" thanks in part to high taxes and cost of living. And many of those participating in the "blue state exodus," Palumbo notes, are fleeing to Florida.
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