I Admired Governor Cuomo—Now I Think He Needs to Resign Immediately

I always feel a bit sheepish writing about Andrew Cuomo because I was one of the many people who wrote nice things about him as recently as March 2020. Perhaps it was Stockholm syndrome or partisanship eating away at my cerebral cortex, or perhaps it was just that I was comforted by his press conferences during the height of the pandemic, which had their flaws but looked pretty good next to Trump’s. Whatever the reason, my Cuomo hot takes in the spring of 2020 were an enormous mistake.

That was 11 victims ago. That was before the impeachments investigation, which began in March, culminated this week with the finding that Cuomo had engaged in “a pattern of inappropriate conduct”—which included “kissing on the lips”—lots and lots and lots of inappropriate touching, invitations to “play strip poker,” and other super-inappropriate sexual talk. That was before the New York State Attorney General’s report, released this week, deemed his behavior “deeply humiliating, uncomfortable, offensive, or inappropriate”  While these findings weren’t surprising (or news, in some cases), the accusations were specific and persuasive. And what Cuomo did next was almost worse than the allegations.

Instead of resigning and apologizing, Cuomo doubled down. It was something I’ve never seen a politician do, and honestly, I hope I’ll never see it again. Cuomo declared, “I do it with everyone. Black and white, young and old, straight and LGBTQ, powerful people, friends, strangers, people who I meet on the street.”

And then Cuomo showed a video of himself touching people. I’m not sure that “I sexually harass everyone” is the defense Cuomo and his team think it is. With his video Cuomo also released an 85-page statement, the majority of which was made up of images of other politicians hugging people. I guess someone in the Cuomo brain trust decided that a collection of random images, taken out of context, somehow made him less culpable, but it doesn’t. Not even a little.

Though there hasn’t been a ton of consensus on the matter until now, the Democratic Party now seems fairly unified in its response: Cuomo should step down. President Joe Biden stated: “I think he should resign. I understand that the state legislature may decide to impeach. I don't know that for a fact.” Senator Chuck Schumer, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolfe, Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee all said the same. As, of course, did New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who said at a Wednesday press conference, “Putting your hand up a woman’s shirt and touching their breast is not generational. I know plenty of guys who are older who would never in a million years do that.” In fact the only person I could find who was defending governor Cuomo was Newsmax contributor Greg Kelly, who, not coincidentally, has faced rape allegations in the past.

And then there are the criminal charges stemming from the investigation. Four different prosecutors (Manhattan’s Cy Vance, Westchester’s Mimi Rocah and Nassau’s Joyce Smith and Albany’s David Soares) are looking into criminal sexual harassment charges against the governor. Not only is Cuomo facing impeachment and removal—which hasn’t happened to a New York governor since 1913 when William Sulzer was removed for allegations of campaign finance malfeasance—he could also find himself with numerous civil cases. (Early accuser Lindsey Boylan is already pursuing a civil case.) Wouldn’t it be deliciously ironic if Cuomo’s victims got some of his $5.1 million “How I won the pandemic” book advance?

Cuomo should resign because it’s the right thing to do and because sexually harassing women is wrong. But besides being a terrible human being, Cuomo is also terrible for the Democratic Party. Democrats desperately need Cuomo to disappear. A lecherous bully is not the face that the Democratic Party wants for its brand. Cuomo occupies a very high profile governorship in a deep blue state. He is not an anomaly on the fringe of the party. Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul would be an excellent and seamless replacement.

If Cuomo doesn’t resign, he’ll be removed and the whole thing will be more painful for those 11 women and messier for the Democratic Party. Fox News is already having a field day with all the Cuomo allegations. Every day Cuomo stays in office is a win for Rupert Murdoch. Every day Cuomo stays in office, Fox News uses him to attack Democrats. Cuomo thinks he’s too big to fail, too famous to have to play by the rules. He’s wrong.

Originally Appeared on Vogue