CNN star Jake Tapper ripped TV colleague Chris Cuomo for secretly strategizing with his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, over the explosive sex-harassment allegations against the governor.
“I cannot imagine a world in which anybody in journalism thinks that that was appropriate,’’ Tapper told the New York Times in a recent podcast interview.
Chris Cuomo, who hosts the cable network’s news-analysis show “Cuomo Prime Time” during the week, reportedly took part in repeated strategy sessions between his brother and the governor’s top aides earlier this year over how to handle the allegations against Andrew — with the TV talker insisting his sibling shouldn’t become a victim of “cancel culture” and resign.
Gov. Cuomo took his baby brother’s advice and will continue to fight to stay in power even amid probes by the state attorney general and assembly into the allegations against him, sources told the Washington Post, which broke the news of the journalistically taboo conference calls earlier this month.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been embroiled with numerous sexual harassment allegations while dealing with his nursing home death scandal. Getty Images
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo appears at the 12th Annual CNN Heroes ceremony held at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan on December 9, 2018. Nancy Kaszerman/ZUMA Wire
CNN moderator Jake Tapper manages the 2019 Democratic Presidential Debate at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, Michigan on July 31, 2019. Getty Images
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo is interviewed by Late Night host Seth Meyers on August 1, 2019. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images“And he said, Chris, in his apology that he delivered on air, said that he put us in a bad spot. And I would also agree with that,” Tapper said in the interview with Kara Swisher on her “Sway” podcast.
“And then just as a last point I would say that I work very hard to be fair and to be ethical and to not cross lines. And I certainly understand the love that Chris has for his brother, and I have a brother, and I get it.
“But that was not a fun day,” Tapper added, apparently referring to when the Washington Post first reported that Chris was advising his brother on the slew of sex allegations against him.
CNN journalist Jake Tapper appears onstage during the WarnerMedia Upfront 2019 show at Madison Square Garden in New York City on May 15, 2019. Getty Images for WarnerMedia
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo has been widely criticized by journalists for consulting with his older brother, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in strategic meetings on his sexual harassment allegations. GC Images
Gov. Andrew Cuomo encourages people to get the COVID-19 vaccine at a pop-up vaccine site in the Grace Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, NY on March 22, 2021. Pool/Getty ImagesChris Cuomo previously landed in hot water with the network over interviews he did with his brother during the COVID-19 pandemic — while failing to ever address the governor’s related nursing-home death scandal.
Gov. Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing in response to the sexual misconduct allegations against him.
