Cuomo: ‘Santa’s going to be very good to me … I worked hard this year’

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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday mused that Santa will be "very good" to him this Christmas because of how hard he worked to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

The eyebrow-raising comments came during Cuomo’s daily press briefing. The Democratic governor was urging New Yorkers to save lives by staying vigilant and following basic health guidelines going into the holidays.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says Santa will treat him favorably this year because how hard he worked.  (Photo credit: Getty images / iStock)

"There’s going to be a time when people turn around and say, ‘why did 57 people die? And why did we have more people die than anywhere else?’" Cuomo said. "You don’t want to have to answer that question. And the answer can’t be, ‘because we played politics.’"

He reiterated his plea for New Yorkers to have a "healthy holiday," noting that he was "going to have a great one."

"Santa’s going to be very good to me. I can tell. I worked hard this year," Cuomo said.

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Negative comments poured in on social media, chastising the governor for his apparent self-adulation.

"He definitely worked hard on his book deal, his Emmy award, and lying through his teeth all year," tweeted Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean, referring to a Cuomo’s memoir: "American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic," published in October. 

"Narrator: But sadly the governor was unaware that Santa Claus passed away earlier that year in a New York nursing home because of his Covid policies," Doug Powers tweeted.

Despite having a high approval rating in the early stages of the pandemic, Cuomo has been dogged by his controversial nursing home mandate in March, which was blamed for 6,600 deaths.

"No. Governor Cuomo deserves coal in his stocking for the rest of his life," tweeted Brad Polumbo of the Washington Examiner.

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More recently, a former aide to Cuomo, who is now running for Manhattan borough president, accused him of sexual harassment in a series of tweets, saying he made inappropriate comments about her appearance.

Lindsey Boylan tweeted that the Democratic governor "sexually harassed me for years. Many saw it, and watched."

"I could never anticipate what to expect: would I be grilled on my work (which was very good) or harassed about my looks. Or would it be both in the same conversation? This was the way for years," she said.

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Asked for comment, Cuomo’s press secretary Caitlin Girouard said, "There is simply no truth to these claims."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.