New York governor Andrew Cuomo will receive an Emmy for showing 'leadership' during his daily COVID-19 press briefings

• Andrew Cuomo is set to receive an Emmy award for his daily televised press briefings during the pandemic, the Academy announced on Friday.
• The Academy said Cuomo will be acknowledged for "his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and his masterful use of television to inform and calm people around the world."
• Cuomo said he found the Emmy recognition "flattering" and that he was going to accept it on behalf of New Yorkers.
• The recent announcement has received criticism, with some people saying it ignores the problems the state experienced during the pandemic.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo is set to receive an Emmy award for his daily televised press briefings during the coronavirus pandemic, the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced on Friday.

According to a statement issued on the Academy's website, Cuomo will receive the International Emmy Founders Award for his "leadership" during the pandemic and "his masterful use of television to inform and calm people around the world."

"The governor's 111 daily briefings worked so well because he effectively created television shows, with characters, plot lines, and stories of success and failure," the president and CEO of the International Academy, Bruce Paisner, said in the statement.

"People around the world tuned in to find out what was going on, and New York tough became a symbol of the determination to fight back," he added.

According to the Academy's website, the award is presented to an individual or organization who "crosses cultural boundaries to touch our common humanity."

It was previously given to other high-profile figures, including former vice president Al Gore, talk show host Oprah Winfrey, and director Steven Spielberg.

Cuomo said on Friday that he found the Emmy recognition "flattering" and was going to accept it on behalf of New Yorkers, a local news reporter tweeted on Friday.

Earlier this year, when New York City became the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuomo's daily televised press briefings, which were calm and honest, were watched by people around the world.

Some Democrats even discussed him as a possible replacement for Joe Biden, the New York Post reported in April.

As a result, the governor saw a surge in popularity, with his approval ratings rising to 77% in May – a record in his nearly 10 years as governor, according to the Guardian.

However, over the months, the governor has seen a decline in popularity and received criticism over his handling of the state's nursing homes.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, a congresswoman-elect for Colorado's 3rd congressional district, tweeted on Friday: "Giving Andrew Cuomo an Emmy is the equivalent of giving Hannibal Lecter the Nobel Peace Prize."

Max Berger, a Democratic consultant and organizer, wrote on Twitter: "This award makes sense because Cuomo isn't actually a competent, empathetic Governor – he just plays one on TV."

According to a tracker by Johns Hopkins University, New York state has recorded more than 580,000 coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic. More than 34,000 in the state have died so far.

While the state is currently seeing fewer hospitalizations than it did at its worst point in the pandemic, cases are still on the rise.

The Emmy will be presented to Cuomo on Monday during the Academy's live-streamed show.

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