NY Dem ‘flooded’ with Cuomo stories: ‘So many people have been bullied, mistreated, or intimidated by him’
'So many people have been bullied, mistreated, or intimidated by him,' the assemblywoman said
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York State Democratic Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou said Friday that her inbox is "flooded" with allegations of mistreatment from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
"I kid you not....my text messages, my DMs, and my inbox are flooded with [C]uomo stories. So many people have been bullied, mistreated, or intimidated by him," she wrote in a tweet.
Niou's tweet came after Democratic New York State Assemblyman Ron Kim sounded the alarm this week on Cuomo's behavior, alleging that the governor threatened to "destroy" him in a spat over the state’s nursing home crisis.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A number of others with connections to the governor have posted accusations of bullying against Cuomo on social media after Kim spoke out about his conversation with him.
State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi said in a Wednesday statement that Cuomo's statements about Kim "are a part of a disturbing pattern of behavior from the [g]overnor."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It's not the first time Cuomo's political rivals have accused the longtime governor of bullying tactics, but new allegations are beginning to emerge after his administration confirmed that thousands more nursing home residents died of COVID-19 than the state's official tallies previously acknowledged.
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Researchers have more recently revealed that Cuomo's directive to put COVID-19 patients in nursing homes as the virus took hold of New York in the spring of 2020 may have led to more than 1,000 fatalities, sparking outrage among his constituents.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cuomo and Kim, both Democrats, have engaged in a public war of words over what transpired on a phone call between the two last week. The conversation came hours after the New York Post reported that one of the governor’s aides, Melissa DeRosa, admitted the office withheld data on COVID-19 deaths at nursing homes.
In a series of media appearances, Kim alleged that Cuomo threatened to ruin the assemblyman’s career unless he walked back remarks to the Post in which he said the administration was "trying to dodge having any incriminating evidence."
While a top aide denied the governor ever threatened to "destroy" Kim, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, another frequent Cuomo combatant, backed up Kim’s claims during an appearance on MSNBC. The mayor suggested that Cuomo’s behavior was part of a lengthy history of intimidation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CUOMO ADMIN'S HANDLING OF NY NURSING HOME CRISIS INVESTIGATED BY US ATTORNEY, FBI: REPORT
"It’s a sad thing to say, but that’s classic Andrew Cuomo. A lot of people in New York state have received those phone calls. The bullying is nothing new," de Blasio said.
The focus on Cuomo comes as left-leaning CNN and host Chris Cuomo, the governor's brother, have given the Democrat's controversies little to no airtime.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Earlier during the pandemic, the network gave Chris Cuomo free rein to conduct friendly, comical interviews with the governor, who wrote a book about successfully handling the pandemic while it was ongoing and even received the International Emmy Founders Award in November for "his leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic and his masterful use of TV to inform and calm people around the world."
This month, the backlash over New York’s nursing home scandal – Cuomo’s public spat with Kim – has prompted a revolt among state lawmakers, several of whom signed a letter calling for the governor’s Emmy Award to be revoked.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cuomo's office said its focus remains on combating the pandemic, not political disputes.
"While these politicians might have enough free time to write blustery letters and issue self-important press releases, our focus remains squarely on vaccinating as many people as humanly possible and leading the state through this public health crisis," Cuomo spokesman Jack Sterne said in response to the letter.
Sterne continued: "New Yorkers have seen the governor show up and fight on their behalf every day for nearly a year, and that’s why they support his actions to defeat COVID by a large margin."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Thomas Barrabi contributed to this report.