No, the headline is not a joke.
Despite his embarassing resignation from the Governor’s Mansion in 2021, some Democrats are so desperate to find a glimmer of hope in 2028 that they’re turning to disgraced former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Sure, he’s currently endeavoring on a run for Mayor of New York City, but it’s never too early to start living in some bizarre political fantasy land, according to The Hill:
Cuomo, with his brash, in-your-face style, they say, could shape up to be a dark horse candidate in what is set to be a wide-open race.
In many ways, they say, it would be reminiscent of the spring of 2020, when Cuomo faced off with Trump during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown, when both men lobbed frequent barbs at each other.
“If Andrew Cuomo becomes mayor of New York, he could very well be Trump’s chief antagonist starting in 2026, which could give Democrats a voice to rally around, however imperfect a messenger he may be,” said Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons.
Cuomo resigned from office in 2021 after he was faced with sexual harassment allegations and a rash of criticism surrounding the way he reported COVID-19 deaths in his state. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Since then, he has kept a low public profile.
Sure, I can sort of see the tortured logic here. After all, with Democrats successfully labeling Donald Trump as a “convicted felon,” Cuomo’s resignation over sexual harassment claims doesn’t hold the weight it once did. That could be true, but Cuomo doesn’t hold the same backing and support as Trump. Furthermore, it’s near-universally agreed that Trump’s “felon” label is a farce pursued for purely political purposes by forces within the Biden administration and corruption within the Manhattan DA’s office.
If Cuomo were to win the mayor’s race in NYC, it would give him a new national platform, that’s true. During the pandemic, he was propped up as some shining star by outlets like CNN and given a megaphone to attack then-President Trump. This is despite Cuomo’s abysmal record of sending thousands of elderly New Yorkers to their death by locking them in nursing homes during the darkest days of COVID.
Cuomo is actually a terrible candidate but he knows how to shoot his mouth off and sound tough, kind of like a Joe Biden. It would be interesting watching him joust with Gavin Newsom in a presidential primary considering they both hail from the two largest blue states in the country. It’s unclear whether either coastal elitist would play well in Ohio or Wisconsin, but Democrats are grasping for anything.
It’s all probably moot if Cuomo can’t beat Mayor Eric Adams in the mayoral primary next year. Cuomo will have to prove himself at the lower level before anxious Democrats will see him as a potential contender in 2028.
If Cuomo’s name is surfacing as a presidential option, however, Democrats are probably worse off than it seems.
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