NY Gov. Cuomo, so-called 'Love Gov,' joked with CNN host bro 2 months before 2nd alleged sex harassment

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Cuomo facing harassment allegations, nursing home cover-up accusations

Bryan Llenas reports on the two controversies the New York governor is facing.

Two weeks after a controversial directive that critics say exacerbated the coronavirus crisis in New York’s nursing homes, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s CNN host brother Chris was teasing him as the "Love Gov" and questioning why he was going "soft" on former President Trump.

And just a couple of months later, the so-called "Love Gov" allegedly sexually harassed a 25-year-old female aide, according to a bombshell New York Times report published Saturday.

"I’ve seen you referred to a little bit recently as the ‘Love Gov,’" CNN host Chris Cuomo told his brother in an April televised interview. "I’m wondering if that’s bleeding into your demeanor at all and making you a little soft on the president."

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"I’m the ‘Love Gov," the governor replied. "I’m a cool dude in a loose mood, you know that. I just say let it go, just go with the flow baby, you know."

"You’ve never said any of those things," the host replied. "This is the first time you’ve said any of those…I’ve known you my whole life."

"Yea, well you should listen better, listening works, not always talking," the governor shot back.

Chris Cuomo was questioning whether the moniker was making his brother reluctant to "fight" with then-President Trump. It was early in the coronavirus pandemic, and he asked the governor why he was going "soft" on Trump. 

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The governor replied that he was cooperating with the president because "It’s very important that the federal government and state government work together during this time."

"I have to do my best job for the people of this state," he added.

The interview aired roughly two weeks after a controversial directive that sent coronavirus-positive patients into the state’s nursing homes – and roughly two months before allegedly making advances to a staffer less than half his age in his Albany office.

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Cuomo has called for an independent "review" of the allegations made against him by Charlotte Bennett and told the New York Times Saturday that "The last thing I would ever have wanted was to make her feel any of the things that are being reported."

FILE - In this May 27, 2020, file photo, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington. A former aide to Cuomo who is now running for Manhattan borough president accused him of sexual harassment in a series of tweets Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020 saying he made inappropriate comments about her appearance. Lindsey Boylan, 36, worked for the Cuomo administration from March 2015 to October 2018, serving first as executive vice president of Empire State Development and then as a special adviser to Cuomo for economic development. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File) ((AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File))

The first allegations were leveled in an essay earlier this week published on Medium by former aide Lindsey Boylan.

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Cuomo, who received widespread praise early in the pandemic due to his daily public briefings on the state’s progress battling the virus, has seen much of that goodwill evaporate in recent weeks due to revelations that the state had drastically underreported the nursing home death toll and the sexual harassment allegations.