Cuomo Heard Making 'Child Rapist' Threat to Working Families Party Leader in 2018 Call

[Polybius]

Source: NBC NY

Near the end of February, The New York Times reported on a phone conversation where Cuomo used stark language in response to the progressive group's decision to back him in the then upcoming general election as a better alternative to Republican Marc Molinaro.

"If you ever say, 'Well he's better than a Republican' again, then I'm gonna say, 'You're better than a child rapist.' How about that?" Cuomo is heard saying on the call, obtained late Friday by NBC New York.

“Governor, I apologize, but I gotta clarify one thing,” the leader of the Working Families Party is heard responding to the governor on the call. “You’re free to say whatever you want, governor, but I just want to be clear. Our line is going to be that we have differences with you, but our differences with Republicans are far greater.”

The snippet of the 2018 call was first made public on Friday, almost a month after the Times reported the outburst and the governor's spokespeople denied the reporting. The Times first shared the audio in an episode of The Daily podcast that aired Friday morning.

Read more: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/cuomo-heard-making-child-rapist-threat-to-working-families-party-leader-in-2018-call/2954321/

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[OAITW r.2.0]

1. He is toast.

I am glad he was the Democratic response to Trump in NY back when the vaccine was going nutz? How many lives did he save with his governance?

[stillcool]

2. that's a threat?

damn. good thing I'm not working any more. I wouldn't last a day.

[NurseJackie]

19. I know, right? It's ridiculous.

[PatSeg]

20. That was not a threat

It was in very poor taste, but the use of the word "threatening" is a bit of a stretch.

[samsingh]

26. it's a ridiculous pileon where any gesture or word is being attacked

this standard will cancel a lot of people without due process.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. 1. That was a false equivalent.

2. That was hyperbole.
3. That was a poor metaphor.
4. It was to make a point of a lukewarm endorsement is not an endorsement.
5. The statement does mean that Cuomo is prone to be a child rapist or would support someone who is.
6. The media has to stop associating everything Cuomo has said in the past as indications that he's a sex pervert or a sex addict.

[Polybius]

5. While I am in agreement with you, it certainly shows his temper

It also makes me believe Assemblyman Ron Kim 100% when he said that Cuomo threatened to destroy him, not that there was ever any doubt in my mind.

[diverdownjt]

18. It's called new york city politics....

You hit hard so opponent get's it thru their head's, you mean business.

He has saved thousands of lives that t-rump was willing to throw away.

He deserves our support till the end. What ever end his career comes too.

No more Al Franken's............................

[wnylib]

40. Agree. Well said.

[brush]

9. Yeh, another ridiculous one reported that Cuomo had a dartboard with Mayor...

de Blasio's face on it. And yet another report just on CNN...one woman says she thinks he was looking down her blouse, nothing else, no words, no touching, just she thinks he looked down her blouse.

Guess it's the "kitchen sink" theory of how to take down an elected official.

[Historic NY]

13. I thinks just about everyone has one of them...

de Blasio - Cuomo war. He's another one who think he could win statewide election, not.

[George II]

23. The follow up to that "blouse" thing is that apparently he was looking at a pendant on a necklace...

....she was wearing. What's the point of wearing a pendant or a necklace if one doesn't want anyone to look at it?

Ridiculous.

Not to worry though, he's going to go to hell anyway because when he was 16 he farted in church.

[brush]

27. Heehee! I couldn't help it. Your last sentence got a chuckle out of me.

[pnwmom]

12. No, but it adds to the evidence that he's a bully with a temper. nt

[dsc]

34. both facts that were well known when he was reelected in 2018

and 2014 and elected in 2010. I mean, anyone who thought he was the second coming of Mr. Rogers was delusional.

[ARPad95]

38. Sentence 5 needs a "not."

5. The statement does NOT mean that Cuomo is prone to be a child rapist or would support someone who is.

[wnylib]

39. #5 Did you mean to say

"The statement does NOT mean ..."?

[madaboutharry]

4. This is turning into a gratuitous pile on.

This is bullshit.

I am not addressing the harassment allegations. That is for a different thread.

The new reporting over the last couple of days has been focused on Cuomo being rude and acting like a big mouth New Yorker. Give me a break.

[PSPS]

6. You're right. This is just yellow journalism.

Of course, he was just reacting to their lukewarm endorsement.

What if he had said, "If you ever say, 'Well he's better than a Republican' again, then I'm gonna say, 'You're better than a murderer.'" I presume channel 4 in NY would breathlessly report it as a "murder threat." This is infotainment at its worst. Is channel 4 luring staff away from Fox now?

[groundloop]

7. That's a bullshit story and proves nothing

[PatrickforB]

8. All the more reason to finish the investigation and ensure Cuomo gets due process.

Because this seems like one of those molehills the press seems to want to make into mountains. If people get mad enough about some statement he made that was crude and definitely in questionable taste to demand he resign BASED ON THIS, then they seem so hypersensitive to me that I would question their judgment moving forward.

Yes, the whole concept of a child rapist is offensive. No doubt. Was the remark in bad taste? Sure. Did it reflect bad judgment on Cuomo's part? Yep. Does it mean he is endorsing child rape? Nope.

What is it those older women in that Burger King commercial used to say in the way back when before Burger King shrank their Whoppers to little tiny patties to increase profits while at the same time inflating the price?

"Where's the beef?"

[JI7]

10. Looks like he is comparing Republicans to Child Rapists

[ColinC]

11. I saw the headline and thought "how disgusting"

"What a horrible POS"

Then I read the article and realized the headline was basically lying.

[SunSeeker]

14. Yup. nt

[C Moon]

15. Wow. It looks like the GOP snakes really need Cuomo out for the next election cycle...

Let's see what they have lined up for Newsom.

[Dopers_Greed]

16. Misleading headline

But this guy is done either way

[wnylib]

41. Not yet. A recent poll of NYers shows that

over half of them say that Cuomo should not resign and they give him high marks for handling the covid crisis.

The same poll says that he should not, however, run for a fouth term next year.

Meantime, the most likely GQP candidate for next year is the NY 23rd District Congressman, Tom Reed. BUT ... Now a woman has accused Reed of inappropriate sexual behavior with her. She was a junior lobbyist on a fishing trip with other lobbyists. While the group was in a bar one evening, she says that Reed ran his hand over her back, unhooked her bra, and rubbed her thigh. She asked the person next to her for help in handling Reed and Reed was escorted out of the bar.

NY Senator Gillibrand said that the woman's complaint is being referred to the House ethics committee for investigation.

[Mike Nelson]

17. Yikes!

... looks like they've run out of stuff to report about Cuomo... if this is all the rest of the bad stuff, he may survive.

[George II]

21. Next: he copied someone's homework in junior high school.

[ananda]

24. Cuomo is plain nasty and unlikeable.

I've never liked him much.

But Reeps are FAR worse... just about all of them!

[Shanti Shanti Shanti]

25. Wow, fake clickbait headline, somebody really wants him gone, the word is out

[marble falls]

28. Cuomo is his own worst enemy. He's the one who will bring himself down.

[JohnnyRingo]

29. Cuomo may be many things, but he's not a child rapist.

Nor is he advocating for child rape.

This accusation is more about a republican smear campaign than sexual improprieties.

[Nixie]

30. Cuomo shot a man in Reno,

just to watch him die!

This is just inane and has been for some time. I have no patience for the 3rd party threats and glad to see Cuomo put these people in their place. Thanks Governor!

[Beastly Boy]

31. If this is a threat, I am a tooth fairy.

...Did I just make a tooth fairy threat to Brian Price and Andrew Siff, the authors of this lameass attempt at sensationalism?

[Nixie]

32. Oh, and this pile-on by this particular association only

lends credence that some groups —- like 3rd party type groups —- are targeting Cuomo, and they are not Republicans.....

[LiberalLovinLug]

33. They are going def con 1. Uncovering all the cushions to find all the dirt they can

No matter how small. The goal is to keep piling on with these kinds of "scandal"s. that would be nothing on their own. After a while, the sheer number of complaints against him will have such bad optics they are counting on him resigning.

I don't want to diminish the seriousness of sexual harassment, but its just too convenient and coincidental that this is the key district that Trump did a lot of his white collar crimes. And how much they need to turn it R and then find a way to dismiss the cases against Trump.

[LymphocyteLover]

36. the real problem is Cuomo has made too many enemies even among Dems

I don't think it's all about Trump

[JI7]

37. Something like this OP is turning people off.

[Gruff B. Gus]

42. Why?

[JI7]

43. It's clickbait

[LymphocyteLover]

35. He's a well-known dick but this seems like a non-story