<ul class="summary-list"><li>Customers who shelled out nearly $300 for "<keyword id="11841339" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cuomosexual">Cuomosexual</keyword>" <keyword id="462891" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="sweaters">sweaters</keyword> have been offered a mulligan.</li><li>Boutique store Lingua Franca notified shoppers that they can get a restitch for free.</li><li>"Cuomosexual" and "Cuomo for president" embroideries can be replaced with a new slogan.</li></ul>For anyone who spent nearly $300 on a "Cuomosexual" or "Cuomo for president" sweater and has been too embarrassed to wear it since 2020, a boutique store is offering a free restitch.The pricey merch supporting outgoing New York Gov. <keyword id="196530" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Andrew-Cuomo">Andrew Cuomo</keyword> had a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/where-to-buy-cuomo-for-president-shirt-lingua-franca-2020-3">flash in the pan as a fashion trend</a> in spring 2020.Now that Cuomo has announced his resignation amid a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gov-andrew-cuomo-resigns-sexual-harassment-scandal-2021-3">sexual harassment scandal</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/andrew-cuomo-scandals-summary-sexual-harassment-nursing-homes-impeachment-resignation-2021-3">several others</a>, the custom knit sweaters lack the caché that once justified their $285 price tag, at least in the minds of those who bought them."In light of recent news, we feel it is our duty to update the stitching on any 'Cuomosexual' or 'cuomo for president' sweaters that were purchased last year, to a new phrase of your choice," the Lingua Franca boutique store announced in an Instagram post on Wednesday.The redo will be free of charge, according to Lingua Franca.<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CScOtyoL6kd" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank"></a> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by Lingua Franca (@linguafrancanyc)<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime=""></time></div></blockquote>When the merch first went on sale, Lingua Franca touted them as "a line of sustainably-sourced, fair trade luxury cashmere sweaters, all hand-stitched by women in NYC."With Cuomo headed out the door after 11 women had their accounts of sexual misconduct corroborated by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-attorney-general-james-investigation-cuomo-sexually-harassed-women-2021-8">New York Attorney General Letitia James' 165-page report</a>, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul will become the Empire State's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kathy-hochul-will-become-new-york-first-female-governor-2021-8">first female governor</a> in 13 days.In some corners of the internet, Cuomo became a sudden sex symbol during his <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-gov-andrew-cuomos-daily-coronavirus-press-briefings-2020-4">star turn at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic</a>.Ranging from speculation about his dating life to <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/04/whats-the-deal-with-andrew-cuomos-nipples.html">whether the governor wore nipple rings</a>, the phenomenon of "Cuomosexuals" snowballed into an internet meme.Those interested in a restitch can contact Lingua Franca at info@linguafranca.nyc.

Lingua Franca offers to restitch $285 'Cuomosexual' and 'Cuomo for president' sweaters

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6355838" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="new-york">New York</keyword> Gov. <keyword id="196530" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Andrew-Cuomo">Andrew Cuomo</keyword> threw a fit when asked by reporters whether or not <keyword id="72226" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="New-York-City">New York City</keyword> schools would be open the next day.</li><li>Casual Cuomo observers were shocked by the "Lov Gov"'s fumbling belligerence. </li><li>They shouldn't be. He's got a long track record of being a prickly, thin-skinned egoist who won't abide any criticism, or even inconvenient questions. </li><li>The "<keyword id="8764262" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid">COVID</keyword> hero" myth he's embraced of himself is just that, a myth. </li><li>This is an <keyword id="6356002" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="opinion">opinion</keyword> column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author.</li></ul>Andrew Cuomo was once America's COVID sweetheart. In the early days of the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> pandemic, President Donald Trump's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-doesnt-respect-science-american-people-covid-coronavirus-climate-change-2020-10">science denial</a>, unhinged <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-broke-brains-conspiracy-theories-obamagate-vote-mail-coronavirus-2020-5">conspiracy theory-mongering</a>, and dangerous "<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-vice-president-pence-members-coronavirus-task-force-press-briefing-31/">bleach cure</a>" speculation left a gaping leadership void.As the coronavirus devastated New York City and deeply impacted other parts of New York state, Cuomo's daily press conferences became a lifeline of mostly reliable information, delivered with calmness and certitude. The governor's briefings, which could last hours, became must-watch viewing and a balm to Americans' frayed nerves."<a href="https://nypost.com/2020/03/21/new-york-women-are-coronavirus-crushing-on-andrew-cuomo-is-he-single/">The Luv Gov</a>" was suddenly <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020/05/how-long-will-the-andrew-cuomo-dating-questions-last">everybody's civic celebrity crush</a>. "Daily Show" host Trevor Noah declared himself a "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O93vQQamzAw">Cuomosexual</a>." During one of many cloying interviews on his brother Chris' CNN show, Andrew Cuomo downplayed his reputation as a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/14/insider/andrew-cuomo-briefings.html">prickly political tactician</a> and <a href="https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/politics/albany/2020/05/08/coronavirus-response-cuomo-shows-different-side-softer-one/5174405002/">called himself</a> "a cool dude in a loose mood."But in the roughly six months since New York "flattened the curve" Cuomo has revealed himself again and again to be a dissembling, short-tempered narcissist. And as a crisis manager, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/20/andrew-cuomo-new-york-coronavirus-catastrophe">his track record is overrated</a>, to put it kindly. Now that America's getting a better look at the Luv Gov, the summer crush is fading.<h2>Cool guy in a loose mood blows a gasket upon being asked a perfectly reasonable question</h2>"Let's try not to be obnoxious and offensive in your tone," <a href="https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1329181336314269701">Cuomo scolded</a> Wall Street Journal reporter Jimmy Vielkind, who on Wednesday had the audacity to ask whether or not the governor would override New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (which <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/12/nyregion/cuomo-coronavirus-orthodox-shutdown.html">Cuomo typically relishes doing</a>) on the issue of whether schools should stay open. Cuomo condescendingly told Vielkind that he was "confused" and "not paying attention." New York Times reporter Jesse McKinley followed up by telling the governor that Vielkind had asked a completely reasonable question that wasn't "obnoxious at all." "Well, I don't really care what you think," Cuomo replied. At that point in the press briefing, New York City parents (myself included) had no idea whether or not schools would be open the next day. We learned during that presser, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cuomo-learned-nyc-schools-closing-from-reporter-coronavirus-press-conference-2020-11">just as the governor did</a>, that the city schools would indeed be closing despite the buildings being declared by city health officials as pretty much <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/12/nyregion/nyc-schools-coronavirus.html">the safest public spaces in the city</a>. Later in the presser, <a href="https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1329174340806602753">the cool guy in a loose mood said</a>: "If you're socially distant, and you wore a mask, and you were smart, none of this would be a problem — it's all self imposed. If you didn't eat the cheesecake you wouldn't have a weight problem."That's a pretty tone-deaf statement for someone previously <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/business/media/cuomo-new-york-coronavirus.html">praised for his cool-headedness</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/24/nyregion/governor-andrew-cuomo-coronavirus.html">empathy</a>. There are thousands of workers who have no choice but to go back to work in potentially unsafe conditions for any number of reasons, not least of which would be the lack of sufficient financial support from the government.Casual Cuomo observers were taken aback by the governor's <a href="https://twitter.com/CalebJHull/status/1329146519770034178?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1329146519770034178%7Ctwgr%5E&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fcuomo-learned-nyc-schools-closing-from-reporter-coronavirus-press-conference-2020-110-11">fumbling belligerence</a>.They shouldn't be. Cuomo has bought into his own myth, and he really doesn't like being challenged. <h2>Cuomo's record doesn't match his reputation</h2>Cuomo's petty turf wars with De Blasio <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-hero-andrew-cuomo-helped-create-new-york-disaster-2020-4">created needless chaos and confusion</a> at the start of the pandemic. Cuomo's order to nursing homes that they must accept COVID-positive patients proved disastrous. And he's repeatedly <a href="https://www.syracuse.com/coronavirus/2020/07/coronavirus-in-ny-hospitalizations-down-cuomo-wont-quarantine-after-georgia-trip.html">flouted the travel restrictions</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/JaniceDean/status/1286296283876069377">mask guidelines</a> he's imposed on the citizenry. But rather than conceding he's made mistakes (which everyone does), he's hawking a memoir called "American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword> Pandemic" whose last chapter is mystifyingly called: "The Aftermath." This summer, Cuomo's own administration cleared itself of responsibility for the thousands of nursing home deaths following his order. Despite the fact that many leading Democrats have clamored for an independent investigation, and mainstream <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> outlets like the Associated Press have agitated for data transparency, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cuomo-nursing-home-deaths-coronavirus-covid-independent-investigation-death-2020-8">Cuomo continues to insist</a> that calls for any further inquiry are merely "toxic" Republican partisan attacks. And in October, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/andrew-cuomo-memory-hole-covid-nursing-home-coronavirus-new-york-2020-10">Cuomo made his most cynical effort yet</a> to <a href="https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-memory-hole-in-1984">memory hole</a> the nursing home order by claiming — in contradiction of his own administration's report — that no nursing home accepted a COVID-positive patient because they were directed to do by the state. At the start of the pandemic, people needed a hero, and Cuomo was all too happy to take up the mantle. But his disgraceful display at yesterday's press conference is more indicative of the kind of "leader" Cuomo really is. He's a slippery, grudge-holding egoist who won't abide any criticism, or even inconvenient questions. <ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/america-covid-response-nonsensical-pandemic-gets-worse-schools-masks-2020-11">America's COVID-19 response grows more nonsensical, even as the pandemic gets worse</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/parenting-school-aged-kids-covid-helpless-failed-leaders-2020-10">Being a parent of school-aged kids during COVID is to be helpless in the face of failed 'leaders'</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/andrew-cuomo-memory-hole-covid-nursing-home-coronavirus-new-york-2020-10">Andrew Cuomo is shamelessly trying to memory-hole his coronavirus nursing home fiasco</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/maga-media-mean-kids-want-you-nice-trump-losing-election-2020-11">MAGA mean kids want you to be nice to them about Trump losing</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/andrew-cuomo-memory-hole-covid-nursing-home-coronavirus-new-york-2020-10"></a></li></ul>

Cuomo is obliterating his own (undeserved) COVID hero myth

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Cuomo was never a <keyword id="8764262" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid">COVID</keyword> hero, it was always a media-created myth.</li><li>His bullying, lying, and attempts at a cover up were always in plain sight.</li><li>The <keyword id="6354777" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Media">media</keyword> needs to remember elected officials work for the people. Our job's to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trumps-gone-but-leaders-still-lie-stay-vigilant-demand-truth-2021-2">keep them honest</a>. </li><li>This is an <keyword id="6356002" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="opinion">opinion</keyword> column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author.</li></ul>To all of the pundits and cable <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> hosts belatedly waking up to the reality of Gov. <keyword id="196530" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Andrew-Cuomo">Andrew Cuomo</keyword>'s bungled pandemic response, welcome.As I've been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-hero-andrew-cuomo-helped-create-new-york-disaster-2020-4">saying since April 2020</a>, in the midst of Cuomomania, the evidence that the New York governor's handling of the COVID crisis wasn't all that great was always right in front of our faces. There was also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cuomo-nursing-home-deaths-coronavirus-covid-independent-investigation-death-2020-8">ample evidence</a> that Cuomo was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/andrew-cuomo-memory-hole-covid-nursing-home-coronavirus-new-york-2020-10">engaging in a cover up</a> of his culpability in thousands of COVID nursing home deaths. Better late than never, but now the scales have fallen from the public's eyes. Hell, <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny-saturday-night-live-cuomo-cruz-spears-20210221-foes6thv7besxmowj7edkasf34-story.html">even the milquetoast sketch comedians at Saturday Night Live</a> are finally taking shots at their home state governor.The wheels started coming off the Cuomomobile <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cuomo-lied-nursing-home-covid-death-new-york-attorney-general-2021-1">in January</a>. But we <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/04/nyregion/cuomo-nursing-home-deaths.html">now know</a> Cuomo's top aides manipulated the state health department's self-audit to cut the number of nursing home deaths in half, in an attempt to shift blame away from the governor's order. This reportedly happened just as Cuomo was about to write his book, "<a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/andrew-cuomo-might-be-a-sociopath-a-book-review">American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic</a>."That's a breathtaking level of cynicism and narcissism for an elected official presiding over the most COVID-devastated state in the country, barely four months into the pandemic. And as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/04/nyregion/cuomo-nursing-home-deaths.html">The New York Times</a> put it, it's demonstrative of the lengths Cuomo went "to control data, brush aside public health expertise and bolster his position as a national leader in the fight against the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword>."These are shocking revelations, but only if you hadn't paid attention to how Cuomo treated anyone who dared to ask for greater transparency over the past year - which is to say he'd berate, slander, and dismiss any inquisitors outright. Now that it's all come <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cuomo-covid-hero-myth-house-cards-nursing-home-death-lies-2021-2">crashing down</a> for the Emmy-winning three-term governor, it's worth looking back on how a complacent media not only aided and abetted a political fraud, but created a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cuomo-obliterates-own-undeserved-covid-19-hero-myth-2020-11">hero myth</a> built on the shallowest of pretenses. <h2>Cuomo's pettiness caused needless suffering</h2>Contrary to popular belief, Cuomo was not a model of leadership at the start of the pandemic almost exactly a year ago. In fact, he <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/05/04/seattles-leaders-let-scientists-take-the-lead-new-yorks-did-not">irresponsibly downplayed the threat of the virus</a> despite mounting evidence that a true threat was imminent. He also created needless confusion to spite his nemesis, the feckless New York City Mayor <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-de-blasio-do-something-great-new-yorkers-resign-2020-6">Bill de Blasio</a>, when the governor characterized the mayor as "psychotic" for telling the public to prepare for a stay at home order. That was on March 17, 2020, six days after the World Health Organization classified <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword> as a pandemic. Cuomo put the entire state on "pause" just three days later. Cuomo continued to let <a href="https://apnews.com/article/66ef96cb5cb9369033ed92c1dd776345">his petty rivalry</a> with De Blasio leave millions of New Yorkers fielding mixed messages about what to do to stop the spread of the coronavirus, or when schools would open or close.That same month, Cuomo ordered nursing homes to accept COVID positive patients to free up desperately-needed hospital beds. The governor's fateful decision undoubtedly contributed to the <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/nursing-homes-cuomo">roughly 15,000</a> COVID deaths in New York nursing homes. Yet for most of 2020, media outlets generally let Cuomo get away with his flippant dismissals of anyone asking for data transparency - be they journalists, activists, or family members of the dead - as being a right-wing hack. No reasonable person can argue that Cuomo intended to facilitate the untimely death of thousands of seniors. The tragedy was almost certainly the result of "pandemic fog" - where information was scarce and guidance from the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/27/politics/donald-trump-disinfectants-coronavirus/index.html">comatose-at-the-wheel</a> Trump administration was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/totally-under-control-filmmaker-alex-gibney-trumps-coronavirus-response-2020-10">non-existent</a>. It was that void of leadership that made Cuomo a star. Simply by being able to give competent press conferences during the most frightening early COVID days was enough for mainstream <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/28/politics/andrew-cuomo-polls/index.html">news outlets</a>, <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/andrew-cuomo-why-we-love-him-now-coronavirus">pundits</a>, and <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/chelsea-handler-andrew-cuomo-love-letter">celebrities</a> to slather the governor with <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-04-28/andrew-cuomo-sexual-ellen-degeneres-youtube">hero worship</a>.To some extent, I understand. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-new-york-ghost-town-made-mixtape-cope-2020-4">I'm a New Yorker</a> who lives about a mile from the epicenter of the "first wave." It was an absolutely <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-made-me-to-talk-to-my-kids-horrors-history-2020-3">terrifying time</a>, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/depression-doesnt-take-time-off-coronavirus-pandemic-quarantine-lockdown-2020-5">we all felt helpless</a>. It's only natural that people looked for a leader. But that was a long time ago, and Cuomo's largely avoided substantive media scrutiny until very recently, despite displaying abjectly despicable behavior throughout the past year. <h2>Cuomo the bully was always there in plain sight, if you cared enough to recognize him</h2>Cuomo's nursing home order was a mistake, which isn't an impeachable offense. But no rational observer can argue that over the past year Cuomo didn't <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cuomo-lied-nursing-home-covid-death-new-york-attorney-general-2021-1">lie</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/andrew-cuomo-memory-hole-covid-nursing-home-coronavirus-new-york-2020-10">bully</a>, and preside over unethical accounting chicanery to <a href="https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2021/attorney-general-james-releases-report-nursing-homes-response-covid-19">cover up</a> that mistake. And those are impeachable offenses. At one point, Cuomo <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/01/politics/andrew-cuomo-nursing-homes-fact-check/index.html">even denied</a> that his nursing home order happened at all. That's how comfortable he was that the media wouldn't hold his feet to the fire. This all happened in plain sight.When straight news reporters asked the governor questions he'd rather not answer, <a href="https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1329181336314269701">he'd belittle them</a> as beneath his intelligence or accuse them of being tools of a <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/08/10/cuomo-shoots-down-probe-into-nursing-home-coronavirus-debacle/">vast right-wing conspiracy</a>. When fellow Democrats called for an independent investigation after Cuomo's administration cleared itself of any responsibility for the nursing home tragedy, he simply ignored them, as did most of the media. It was only when Assemblyman <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ron-kim-interview-cuomo-must-answer-covid-nursing-home-deaths-2021-2">Ron Kim</a>, a fellow Democrat, said Cuomo called him at his home and threatened to "destroy" him if he didn't do what the governor demanded that "Cuomo the hero" started to be portrayed in the press as "Cuomo the thug." And now that the governor's been accused by three women - including two of his former aides - of sexual harassment, a perfect storm of scandal has created a <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/03/04/andrew-cuomo-saga-modern-politics-473593">new media narrative</a>, which is: "Everyone's known for years that Andrew Cuomo is a total prick."The <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/my-cuomo-crush-turned-out-to-be-stockholm-syndrome">mea culpas</a> are coming fast and furious from the erstwhile "<a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/daily-shows-trevor-noah-tears-into-andrew-cuomo">Cuomosexuals</a>." I don't mean to be excessively critical of my colleagues in the media. We all <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-new-hampshire-crash-burn-shows-time-end-campaign-2020-2">get it wrong</a> sometimes. But if there's any greater lesson to be learned from the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/andrew-cuomo-hero-rise-and-fall-like-rudy-giuliani-2021-2">rise and fall of Andrew Cuomo</a>, media-created hero, it's to not make politicians into heroes. That isn't to say we should be reflexively combative with lawmakers, just that we should never treat them as infallible, pure-of-heart vanguards. Cuomo, like all elected officials, works for the people. Our job in journalism is to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trumps-gone-but-leaders-still-lie-stay-vigilant-demand-truth-2021-2">keep them honest</a>. Otherwise, we're just PR flaks for the powerful.

Cuomo's fall from grace should be a wake up call for the media that pumped him up during the pandemic

.<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="196530" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Andrew-Cuomo">Andrew Cuomo</keyword>, like Rudy Giuliani after 9/11, was a nationally-acclaimed "hero."</li><li>But after a series of revelations and disastrous pressers, the bloom is off Cuomo's rose. </li><li>Both men sullied their reputations simply by being themselves — arrogant, bullying, and unaccountable.</li><li>This is an <keyword id="6356002" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="opinion">opinion</keyword> column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author.</li></ul>Andrew Cuomo and Rudy Giuliani have more in common than they'd probably care to admit. The Italian-American heritage, the outer-borough New York City roots, and the way they both parlayed their legal backgrounds into elected executive positions are among the more obvious comparisons. Cuomo and Giuliani also followed similar paths to nationally-acclaimed "hero" status.And both men soon sullied their ascendant reputations simply by revealing the disagreeable, narcissistic tendencies that were there all along. <h2>Like Cuomo, Rudy was once briefly considered a national "hero" </h2>Rudy Giuliani was always a media heat-seeking missile, going back to his days as a crusading federal prosecutor taking on the New York mafia. He rode that "<a href="https://www.cato.org/commentary/rudys-racist-rants-nypd-history-lesson">tough on crime</a>" persona to two terms as mayor at a time when New York City was emerging from decades of mismanagement, high crime rates, and blight. Giuliani was the face of the city's turnaround, but he was also the same face that presided over a New York Police Department rife with <a href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/1999/04/dial-a06.html">allegations of systemic abuse</a>. And he was the "no-fun" mayor who enforced archaic "<a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/bjjdzq/how-mayor-giuliani-decimated-new-york-city-nightlife">cabaret laws</a>" that criminalized dancing. He was also a <a href="https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-censorship-sick-stuff-rudy-giuliani-fight-shut-down-brooklyn-museum">would-be censor</a> for his efforts to shut down the Brooklyn Museum over an art exhibition that <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/arts/092499brooklyn-museum.html?mcubz=1">offended him</a>. When New York magazine ran an ad mocking declaring the publication "'possibly the only good thing in New York Rudy hasn't taken credit for," <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/02/nyregion/judge-rejects-giuliani-s-attempt-to-kill-bus-ads-using-his-name.html">Giuliani tried to have the ads removed</a>. As the end of his second term approached, <a href="https://poll.qu.edu/new-york-city/release-detail?ReleaseID=631">New York was clearly ready to move on</a> from Giuliani. Then 9/11 happened. It's hard for people under the age of 30 to believe, but I swear it's true: Rudy Giuliani deserves the credit he got for being "America's Mayor" on 9/11 and the immediate weeks thereafter. Giuliani was in the shadows of the twin towers when they came crashing down. He emerged as a picture of calm, steady, authoritative leadership. He helped tamp down on panic by refuting unfounded rumors. He demonstrated empathy for the loved ones of "the missing" - while grieving for many of his own friends. As an unflappable conduit of information to a traumatized nation, and later as "mourner-in-chief," Giuliani presented an image of stoic resilience. Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/covid-killed-new-york-city-big-apple-will-be-back-2020-12">New York City as we knew it is dead. Long live New York.</a>But over time <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-politics-polls/giuliani-plummets-in-nbc-journal-poll-idUSN1964101820071220">the bloom came off his rose</a>, and his tenure as mayor received overdue scrutiny that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/james-woods-rudy-giuliani-2003-tv-movie-twitter-national-embarrassments-2020-11">dented his overstated reputation</a> as the guy who "saved" New York. And thanks to his years of service as Trump's legal surrogate, Giuliani's become <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/12/13/787204619/giuliani-the-lawyer-at-the-center-of-the-ukraine-affair-and-the-path-that-led-th">a central figure</a> in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/giuliani-claims-trial-by-combat-comment-game-of-thrones-reference-2021-1">two impeachments</a>. He also bears the shame of propagating <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/right-wing-conspiracy-theories-qanon-fueled-capitol-siege-instigate-violence-2021-1">baseless election fraud conspiracy theories</a> that have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/voter-fraud-debunked-isaac-saul-viral-election-thread-conspiracy-theories-2020-11">poisoned the brains</a> of millions of voters. Ultimately, the image of Giuliani's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rudy-giuliani-hair-dye-trump-campaign-press-conference-photos-video-2020-11">bug-eyed head-melting press conference</a> will probably outlive the image of him marching up Broadway covered in dust on 9/11.<h2>Cuomo reveals the real Cuomo</h2>Andrew Cuomo was never as divisive a figure as Giuliani, but <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/10/19/andrew-cuomo-the-king-of-new-york">he has developed a reputation</a> for being personally disagreeable, vindictive, and autocratic. All of that receded into distant memory at the onset of the <keyword id="8829783" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus-pandemic">coronavirus pandemic</keyword>. With then-President Donald Trump spreading dangerous misinformation, the New York governor's daily press conferences became a national balm. Like Giuliani post-9/11, Cuomo presented as a thoughtful leader, tamping down on rumors and false information, while also not condescending to the public. When relaying the horrifically tragic death tolls, he gave it to you straight, no filter.Cuomo filled the leadership void, and for that he was feted across the talk show and nightly <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> show circuits. He hopped on planes for a "victory" tour. And he wrote a book about "leadership" during the <keyword id="8764262" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid">COVID</keyword> pandemic. There was speculation that Cuomo <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/04/andrew-cuomo-wants-everyone-to-know-he-wont-replace-joe-biden">might replace Joe Biden</a> atop the Democratic presidential ticket. Cuomo's press conferences earned him an Emmy award. And "Daily Show" host Trevor Noah declared himself a "Cuomosexual." Like Giuliani <a href="http://content.time.com/time/covers/europe/0,16641,20011231,00.html">19 years prior</a>, Cuomo was on top of the world. So confident in his own greatness was Cuomo that he blithely dismissed calls for an independent investigation into his administration's order that nursing homes accept COVID-positive patients as dirty Republican trickery. For months Cuomo was able to maintain this posture to little media scrutiny, even though many Democrats demanded greater transparency from the governor. But then last week <a href="https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2021/attorney-general-james-releases-report-nursing-homes-response-covid-19">a bombshell report</a> from New York's attorney general Letitia James revealed that the state had been deliberately undercounting its COVID nursing home deaths, by approximately 50%. And on Wednesday, <a href="https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Judge-orders-DOH-to-turn-over-detailed-15921672.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&amp;utm_source=t.co&amp;utm_medium=referralreferral">a state Supreme Court justice ruled</a> the Cuomo administration's Department of Health inappropriately stonewalled a Freedom of Information Law request into the state's data regarding COVID nursing home deaths. As a result, New York state taxpayers will have to pay the complainant's legal bills. Cuomo, put simply, had finally been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cuomo-lied-nursing-home-covid-death-new-york-attorney-general-2021-1">revealed as a liar</a> and the worst kind of "leader," one who couldn't even acknowledge he had made a mistake. Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cuomo-lied-nursing-home-covid-death-new-york-attorney-general-2021-1">Cuomo lied, and now we know it</a>Take Cuomo's handling of bars and restaurants during the pandemic. These are typically small businesses that turn just-modest profits even during boom times. They're also often the lifeblood of communities. But at every turn Cuomo has shown a clumsy indifference to actually helping people. The governor arbitrarily added minimum food requirements for any establishment serving alcohol, then <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/nyregion/ny-bars-open-cuomo.html">ordered strict crackdowns</a> to enforce them. Similarly, he abruptly shut down indoor dining in New York City in December because of rising COVID rates, but now says they will reopen on Valentine's Day, even though COVID hospitalization rates are currently about <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/02/02/nyregion/cuomo-nyc-indoor-dining.html">60% higher</a> than they were in December. When asked by a reporter if restaurant workers could be added to the new list of vaccine-eligible occupations, <a href="https://queenspost.com/cuomo-nyc-can-now-add-restaurant-workers-taxi-drivers-to-vaccine-eligibility">Cuomo dismissed it</a> as "a cheap, insincere, discussion." <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2021/2/2/22262372/restaurant-workers-vaccination-distribution-nyc-cuomo-de-blasio">A day later</a>, he did an about-face and said he'd allow restaurant workers to join the ranks of the vaccinated. And this week, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/01/nyregion/cuomo-health-department-officials-quit.html">The New York Times</a> reported that nine top New York health officials had resigned as Cuomo "has all but declared war on his own public health bureaucracy." The result has been a horribly botched vaccination rollout and morale "at an all-time low" among the state's health agencies. Cuomo's press conferences - much like Rudy Giuliani's - are now more likely to be mocked than lauded, as he <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2021/02/01/andrew-cuomo-dont-trust-the-experts-gupta-sot-lead-vpx.cnn">grows more comfortable</a> revealing his <a href="https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1352668092560769026?s=20">arrogance</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1329175293228101634">mean-spiritedness</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1356321186494492673">indifference to people suffering</a> as a result of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-restaurants-are-struggling-2020-12">his own governance</a>.Giuliani and Cuomo both rose to national hero status despite spotty reputations and let the adulation go to their heads. And both have since sullied those reputations, simply by being themselves. <ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gop-rep-adam-kinzinger-relatives-disowned-him-impeach-trump-vote-2021-1">GOP House member who voted to impeach Trump says his family sent around a signed petition disowning him for crossing the former president</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/james-woods-rudy-giuliani-2003-tv-movie-twitter-national-embarrassments-2020-11">I watched James Woods play Rudy Giuliani in a 2003 TV biopic, made before both became national embarrassments</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/teachers-unions-should-admit-not-coming-back-school-covid-pandemic-2021-1">Teachers' unions should just admit they don't want to come back to school until the pandemic is over</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-qanon-maga-paranoid-conspiracy-theory-tucker-carlson-rand-paul-2021-1">Trump's gone, but the GOP's conspiracy theory cesspool is here to stay</a></li></ul>

You Searched For "cuomosexual" and got 4 results

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Cuomo's fall from grace should be a wake up call for the media that pumped him up during the pandemic

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