As, a former journalist and media critic, I’ll bust a gut if I don’t write about the fascinating and bloodless but significant cultural television phenomenon emerging from the coronavirus tragedy.
This post is not about whether President Trump is a good President or a bad one, it’s about the way two reality shows so different from one another are both airing every day and revealing so much about our politics, culture and maybe our future.
It’s not just a question of two different press conferences, it’s really about two different ways of looking at the world.
These two regular daily television conferences about the coronavirus – one starring the President, the other Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York – could help determine who is President in the Fall, and how we as a nation respond to this staggering crisis and the next ones to come.
Part of our President’s genius is that he sees himself – once and forever – as the star of his own long-running, TV centered reality show.
The White House lawn and press room is his daily stage and this idea of being a Tweeting TV Reality Show President blew away a score of gifted competitors. They all saw the Presidency quite differently.
Trump’s vision of being President has upended conventional politics, fusing them with the lessons of mass-market television. He turned out to be the wisest of them all. And many people love him very much.
Donald Trump is the master of the genre.
If you take a couple of hours to watch the best reality TV shows from Dr. Phil to The Real World to Million Dollar Listing and the Bachelor, even Trump’s own Apprentice, you will see his vision played out on the White House lawn or press room every day.
He’s turned the entire Washington political spectrum into actors and wannabees on his own show, the Apprentice, all over again.
Trump is always the story on his show, always on stage from his bluster to his hair to his fancy suits and ungracious responses. He can say or do whatever he wants, his outrageousness and offensiveness is the point, not a side effect.
I have no idea what he’s really like, but his TV persona is shocking and unwavering. His followers wanted a Disrupter, and that’s is what they got. He didn’t run to govern, he ran to destroy our conventional ideas about governing.
The President may or may not understand how a virus spreads, but he understands his television. He knows that on every successful reality show, arrogance, cruelty, boorishness, fighting, over-the-top polarizing, and paranoia, even bigotry as a political philosophy, are considered admirable, not offensive.
In this world, lying and exaggerating, scapegoating and bragging are not bad things, but good things.
You win by flaunting and taunting the conventions of the “elites” and the unknown.
As a former TV producer, I know good TV when I see it, and Trump is perhaps the best I have ever seen at keeping himself in front of the camera, no matter what he says or does while performing.
It is a fascinating fusion of popular culture and politics.
President Trump is a master of the form, he is the star of every room he’s ever in, and everyone must bow before him. In TV, I learned early that fiction soon becomes reality, and many people no longer care about the difference.
Suddenly a new challenge for the President, a spawn of the coronavirus hosted by a different personality, and this show is also red-hot, riveting, watched across the nation and suddenly very influential.
It is transformative, also shaping our society and our understanding of the coronavirus, and of ourselves.
In an indirect but obvious way, it is also challenging the ethos and popularity of President Trump, and his prospects for re-election.
Without ever hardly mentioning him, this new broadcast is creating a devastating portrait of a leader struggling painfully to lead a diverse nation – half of whom he has deliberately and contemptuously alienated – at a critical time.
A lethal Pandemic isn’t really the stuff of good reality TV. It’s too heavy, too real and too frightening. So far, President Trump doesn’t seem to have found another speed.
Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York seems to understand something that no other politician or political candidate up against President Trump has yet grasped. You can’t fight a Reality TV Presidency with an argument, you have to fight it with another reality show, a newer and better one.
And you have to fight it by showing a better way, not just promising it or arguing about it.
In essence, you undercut Trump by being the very opposite of him on television every single day when so many people are paying attention. You do not do this by attacking him or quarreling with him. It’s entertainment, stupid, fighting and offending is his specialty, it is most people’s weakness. You try to show what government, at its best, can do.
Governor Cuomo seems to have figured this out. If he’s loud you’re soft, if he is vicious, you are gentle, if he is lying or stretching the truth, you are being painfully honest, if he can’t really show empathy, you are empathizing all the time, even in tears at times.
Cuomo, a blood enemy of most Republican politicians, is not your usual progressive or wooly headed prophet of the left. He is notorious as a tough, take-no-prisoners governor. He has ticked off liberals and conservatives alike.
He talks to the President most days during the crisis, he praises Trump on every single broadcast. His dedication to helping the people in his stricken city seems to have taken precedence over anything else.
Accurately or not, no one in his growing audience ever gets the impression that he is thinking of himself or his future.
Governor Cuomo speaks directly, and in a working-class, every man, Queens accent. Trump is a ruthless billionaire, his father was a ruthless real estate developer and a cold and demanding parent.
Cuomo’s father was also a tough politician who said more than once that campaigning was poetry, governing was prose. His son was his campaign manager.
Mario Cuomo had a Teamster style of leadership and the heart of a lion. He often sounded like a Jesuit poet.
His son Andrew is showing those qualities in every press conference, and he is hitting most of them out of the park. By contrast, Trump seems to struggle with a format constrained by gravity and science.
Suddenly, facts really matter. Facts are not his thing.
His press conferences are long, confusing and awkward.
Andrew Cuomo never takes the bait. How can you be attacked or belittled by Trump’s many supporters when you never attack or criticize their leader? For the first time, the President seems tongue-tied. Can he win on governing? Not this time, it seems, not so far.
Cuomo has also done some fusion – politics, disaster, family, and television. Because of the virus and the havoc it’s wreaking in New York City and much of the rest of the country, he suddenly has a vast audience.
Until now, nobody could compete with President Trump when it came to television and media attention.
Cuomo is besting him, breaking through the Trump-wall. He is perhaps Trump’s worst nightmare, a potential opponent who understands government, sports, politics, and television. Someone who can take out his human side, polish it like precious silver, and show it off.
He has been waiting for this moment all of his political life. He is telling us – showing us – how the government is supposed to work when there is this much trouble.
President Trump brags about his ratings in one breath, offers deadly statistics in the next. Cuomo is self-effacing, almost shy. He seems to bleed for every sick and dying person.
In a reality television show, producers know that the more outrageous, over-the-top, divisive, or over-the-top the message, the more people will love it and come back for more.
Reality TV is a circus, not a policy. President Trump loves drama, he brags, lies, attacks enemies and reporters at will, he always gets the headlines; he always makes the news.
Cuomo understands that the media is just like the President – they also thrive on drama even as they bemoan it – they are not really his enemy but his very best friends. Each makes the other possible – and rich.
Cuomo also uses them in that way. But his press conferences are never an ugly slugfest. The dance is much quieter.
Cuomo’s daily press briefing about the virus, now broadcast live all over America and on several cable channels live is, in every way, the child of the Trump idea, yet at the same time the very opposite of it.
I don’t kid myself about the governor. Cuomo, like his father and his brother, is a political animal, with all of the instincts of a wolf hiding behind the garb of a noble priest.
He knows what he is doing.
Cuomo has figured out how to make Trump look bad and very different from him.
He does it by never criticizing the President directly, but undermining him constantly – all he has to do is be himself. Trump has to put on his Reality TV mask every time.
I picture Jeb Bush as pulling his hair out.
Whatever his motives and intentions – I can’t know – Cuomo is now the anti-Trump, the dream Democratic candidate.
It never pays to underestimate Donald Trump, but the smart political people are all whispering right now that Cuomo would eat Trump alive in a debate or an election. I imagine that the idea will gain some steam this Spring.
In his press conferences, Cuomo has created his own FDR-style Fireside Chat, calming a nervous and grateful country with compassion and understanding, stories from his personal life, and poetic exhortations to be calm and vigilant and patient.
I’m not sure what the message from Trump is for me, other than that he is doing a terrific job. That doesn’t make me feel better about being closeted in my house for the next few weeks. If there is another message, I am not getting it.
Cuomo surprises me, he is out of the box: He even rounded up nearly 7,000 therapists to counsel people who are freaking out in New York.
And for free.
Cuomo, like his father, understands from the ancient Greeks that the most beloved heroes show their vulnerability and their flaws. He is not afraid to choke up and cry.
Trump insists at every opportunity that he is the smartest person in every room, Cuomo is quick to say he knows little, he listens to the experts and deals in facts. Trump says he takes no responsibility for the way the coronavirus was handled by the federal government.
Cuomo takes full responsibility for telling people to shelter in place.
If you have to blame anyone, he says, blame me. I’m the guy at the top. His strength is contagious. So is his calm.
Rather than try to win over Trump’s devoted followers, Cuomo sidesteps their anger and sense of persecution. He is gathering his own tribe instead. The troll army has no role to play. Trump has no answer for that, the pundits say he watches every minute of Cuomo’s show every day and has even tried to copy his style.
My guess is that Trump will have to go after Cuomo at some point, it’s his nature.
He’ll give Cuomo a Middle School name and try to bait him into a mistake (remember Elizabeth Warren?) That could be the political battle of the century, Godzilla versus the Tyrannosaurus.
Cuomo, a purveyor of high-quality schmaltz, is a politician known for his arrogance and ruthlessness, but this new and warmer leadership style is a huge hit, all over the country.
The governor has also broadened the cast of his show, as good reality shows do.
There is his little brother Chris, a CNN anchor, who loves to banter and defer to his big brother; there are his adult daughters, who have come to live in the Governor’s Mansion to join in the corona battle alongside their pop.
There is even a now-famous mother, Matilda, the storied Italian mom going over to Chris’s house to show him how to make her fabulous pasta sauce. Loving and praising – and protecting – your mother on national TV is a very smart thing to do.
Almost daily, Andrew Cuomo evokes the ghost of his famous father. President Trump seems to do the same thing but in a different way.
The Cuomos won the Reality TV Sweepstakes this week when Brother Chris contracted the coronavirus himself and suffered greatly from, then began to heal, on national television, his “best friend” big brother calling constantly from the Governor’s Mansion in Albany to check in and make sure he’s all right.
Chris, who had a very long and rough night, told the nation that he dreamed his powerful brother was a ballerina dancing in his dream.
The media scarfed it up.
When they do talk, which is often on their respective broadcasts, the brothers kid each other with warmth and love, they paw sweetly at one another like two lion kittens. Brothers for our time.
The vast TV audience looking in on this drama swooned and teared up.
Even Reality shows don’t get more real than that. I took a brief look at President Trump in his dark suit with Brother Pence glowering standing loyally at his side later in the day, he got clobbered today.
And I thought, wow, Cuomo is a master himself. This new show could beat the competition silly.
It makes for wonderful TV, the two brothers who clearly care for one another and have been bantering with each other for years. Keep it rolling, keep it going, I could hear myself shouting in the CBS control room.
There were tears all over the country when Governor Cuomo nearly broke down on the air talking about his brother’s diagnosis.
The governor said he was worried about his little brother, who he loves dearly. His best friend.
Chris in return urged the governor to be careful traveling around the state, he is too important to lose.
I’m not trying to be cynical or skeptical here, but reporters are reporters, writers are writers, artists are artists, and politicians are politicians. I see what I see.
As a former TV producer, I would have cut off an arm for content like this.
No wonder President Trump seems rattled, reading off of his prepared text in a monotone while Cuomo orates spontaneously, quoting Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln.
Part of Trump’s great success is that he has convinced the very people who need a leader the most that he is their salvation.
And many people now think that Governor Cuomo is their salvation. This crisis will go on for a long time, everyone involved shall be revealed.
Call your mom, Cuomo said during a press conference last week, but don’t let her in your house now, he cautioned in one press conference. Love your mother from a distance. Stay home and cook your family a nice Sunday dinner, he suggested in another.
Cuomo projects the idea that he will do anything, anything – even pull the right levers in government – to go to bat for his citizens, especially the embattled elderly right now. He always talks about the little guy at the bottom of the pile and how to protect them.
We can’t let anybody die, he says, we can’t write anybody off. His eloquent plea to save every life, including the sick and the elderly, shined as one of the high points in the history of great leadership.
The wolves were already beginning to call for the blood of the vulnerable, save the economy first. Most of these people are going to die anyway.
I won’t give up on anybody, Cuomo promised and talked like he meant it. The President said more people died from the flu than the coronavirus that day. It wasn’t true.
As an older person at risk, I might be biased, but apart from that, it was a beautiful message Cuomo gave, leadership at its very best.
There is a lot at stake in these culture wars, as the Corona Reality TV Battle suggests.
What do we want a President to be? What do we want our country to be? What do we want our government to be? We will all have some answers in a few weeks.
I think President Trump ought to be grateful that Andrew Cuomo decided not to run for President this year.
(I was once a political writer also, and I can’t help notice that in every single broadcast, Cuomo says – often repeats – the statement that what is happening in New York City will soon be happening elsewhere, broadening his audience and giving anyone anywhere a good reason to see his broadcasts.
Just sayin’. He insists the crisis in New York is not local, but will soon be heading elsewhere. If anyone helps New York, he says, he will personally return the favor.)
This virus will re-shape our political system in one way or the other, and whatever the outcome, our popular culture may decide those important questions about our country.
But I wonder a bit when Cuomo says he isn’t interested in running. Politics is clearly in his blood. And I found out that the Democratic National Convention can nominate anyone they wish to nominate.
I really can’t tell if this is just another part of the show.
(Note, this is not a left-right political discussion, nor a hate or love President Trump discussion. It’s about the fascinating popular culture that America has created, and that has obsessed and shaped the politics of our country for years. I refuse to crap it up with hoary left-right propaganda.
Here, we think for ourselves. This blog is a search for truth, agree or disagree, but don’t bring mindless propaganda here. I won’t post it.)
Oh the brothers are truly funny. This morning, when the little brother was telling his big brother about his hallucinations during his Corona fever, and the Governor appeared to him as a ballerina waving a magic wand, it was hilarious. I think this is the leader you’ve been talking about that would rise up to lead. If it wasn’t for Cuomo and Dr. Fauci, the news would be too depressing and bleak to take.
I have observed in the reality show genre that there always comes a point where the over-the top bad boy/girl crashes and audiences go from loving those zany antics and the obscene behavior to being annoyed or turning on said character. This usually happens when the bad boy/girl either behaves totally inappropriately to a character viewed as nice or when a character who is “genuine” arrives. In this case I think the perception of Cuomo as being genuine is completely upending the script on Trump. From a reality show point of view, I would say Trump ‘a story arc is following the same arc as many reality show villains and He is going to find that he is far less interesting when confronted by a genuine and compelling character.
Excellent, insightful & detailed review & analysis of the ongoing pageant. Cuomo for president. As for Team T – lock them up for treason during this “war”.
So very true.
Bravo, Jon . And thanks .
An excellent piece – thanks for the analysis on our Real Life Reality Show – where people do die as the show continues to play.
where have you gone joe DiMaggio a nation turns its lonely eyes to you
thanks
Thank you for bringing your experience in journalism and television to bear in this essay. Very interesting and enjoyable as well.
Jon, I’ve been reading your blog for a number of years and this, without doubt, is the best reporting I’ve seen on your blog, it was riveting. Thank you for this. I’ve glanced at Cuomo reports but not read extensively, being a Canadian, it doesn’t affect me directly. This is unbiased but very clear reporting. Again, thank you.
The virus is attacking people because we don’t have the immunity to stop it. It’s a devastating time both medically and economically. Self-isolating is all we can do for now and it dismays me to read of so many people disregarding this request.
Sandy Proudfoot, Ont. Can.
The facts serve as an anchor and create an illusion of authenticity and believability which makes The Governor so impressive….Trump is an idea man without the benefit of basic knowledge….very much like a brainstorming session…… which casts him in a light that does not amplify integrity or leadership……the President is becoming impotent in front of our very eyes.
I really enjoyed your article. I look forward everyday to watching the governor and the president. I absolutely love the interaction between the two bothers…priceless. The governor has brought me to tears at times..
Great analysis. The Cuomos are here to stay for a while
Perfect, Jon!
Youve summed it up perfectly. Bravo!
Greatness. Bravo.
Jon,
Thanks so much for Seizing the Moment and helping us all to understand it more fully. I totally agree with all you say. Brilliant.
But it ain’t over yet! Let’s see if Trump can drag Cuomo into the mud. You are absolutely right and I am cheering for Cuomo……………..and of course you and Maria.
One of the best pieces I’ve read in the past year! You have a new fan.
I think this is a terrific comparison, and I think the points are spot-on. Great job, Mr. Katz.
I predict Biden will ask Cuomo to be his VP running mate. Biden does this & he will be instantly elected.
Cuomo won’t accept. He can do more as Governor.
Do you see the brothers as JFK and Bonny? The irony being, from what I’ve read, the Cuomos and the Kennedys don’t like each other much,
Bonny = Bobby
Perfect
I disagree with your thoughts, but respect you and your views. You are a great writer.
Thanks, Charlotte, I appreciate that. I have no need for people to agree with me, there’s no requirement here for that, and thanks for being civil. I always write out of my own mind and never tell other people what to do. Anybody can have a blog and express themselves, lots of people do. If you agreed with me all the time, you would have no reason to read me…thanks again..
First – the article is the best I have read since this horrific even started. But, 2nd – this reply to Charlotte restores some of my faith in journalism. Thank you both for encouraging posts!
I so appreciate your civility both John and Charlotte
Thank you Jon. This is a brilliant piece and very helpful to me personally. For some time now I have stopped talking about our political situation because I am so upset about it I can’t think clearly. You have given me a perspective I haven’t had before and badly needed. This is a big, valuable deal for me.
🙂
Jon you clearly identify something I believe the AMERICAN populace is thirsting for and we are parched.
I put it this way:
Presidential leadership that is presidential.
I have planned my days with Cuomo in the AM, and some Cuomo during the podcast in the PMYour article defined ‘a state’ some of us relax into by a kind word, and simple explanations. Gov. Cuomo is easy to spend an hour with each morning. Now that Chris is too cute may need to start watching him on TV, rather than enjoy the podcast. Your opinions are duly noted, I agree with most, but not with others. Moratorium on any news for our fam. Tomorrow4/4. Enough for one week.
Agree
Delightfully written. It’s true that I don’t miss the governor’s “show” and only watch Fauci on Trump’s “show.” these days. Compassion and intelligence vs. bravado and blame…no contest!
i enjoy all of your musings, as i have all of your books over the years. Maybe this will be the election of the century between the real new yorker and the fake. Guess the public will decide which one to believe. My hope is that the circus pony concedes early to the mighty lion and the popcorn is shared by all. thanks jon for a marvelous read.
Thank you?
I love your analogy. Well written and spot on.
One leader gives Oxygen, the other sucks it out of our lungs.
Absolutely BRILLIANT!
Great points written with wit and precision, so much so that I now feel our nation has fallen into the hands of warring mob bosses. They’re both out for blood money, but we’re left with choosing how to surrender to what happens when democracy dies.
Exactly what I’ve been wrestling with.
It’s a great relief to find someone “on the inside” like Jon Katz who sees this much as I do: a weird dystopian circus with the gut wrenching fact of humanity hanging on the outcome.
I can’t care who wins any more, as we’re basically past saving. All we can do is pass the popcorn and try to survive; be kind to those around us, keep breathing, and wait.
Thank you for this ?
I agree with Charlotte. Your a very good writer. 🙂 but I also disagree with a lot of this. I think..you have to take a look at America and the peoples disgust with politics as usual. The career politicians. Lobbyists. They wanted something different, and they voted him in.
So far, I dont see a mistake in that. Cuomo is doing the best he can now. I dont understand why NYC didn’t have a large medical stockpile of their own. It’s a HUGE city! One of the highest taxed states in the country. I would think..after 9/11…after Sandy..after the numerous papers written about pandemic affect on NYC…that there would have been plans in place for hospitals to be connected, stockpiles of inventory, etc. When I listen to his daily briefs…and he keeps say ventilators..send me all the ventilators…I’m like..but what about the rest of the states? People are on those ventilators for 3 to 4 weeks! Not the usual 3 to 5 days. He cant promise to share them after he is done with them. :/ no one knows when that will be. So it just seems to me that HE is the one playing “catch up”…and his comments are being used to deflect from his lack of prior preparation. He’s doing a good job catching up…but ventilaors… no one can *poof* and make them appear. And the ones he keeps saying dont work? That is not unusual. They need to be refitted…or recalibrated. Seals maybe be replaced. I do like that he said they were converting anesthesia machines and bipaps. Those will work. Hopefully hes on that.
But I guess..I’d rather deal with someone who is like Trump. All out there..this is me. Than deal with a wolf in sheeps clothing. When you never know when he’s gonna turn around and bite you. 😉
The preparations for disaster in NYC were done both before and after 9/11. They ran through those supplies quickly. NY state had its own stockpile of ventilators. They have already been used. It is hard to comprehend the enormous scale of this disaster. Imagine the largest church in your city, completely full, and every single person needs an oxygen tank today. Tomorrow the church fills again and all of the new people also need oxygen tanks. Half of yesterday’s people need ventilators. The next day the same thing happens. The city of NY was prepared for a normal disaster or disease outbreak. This is not normal. Nothing like this has ever happened before.
Elizabeth Williams, if you think Trump is all out there, you are seriously mistaken. Everything about him is fake. He’s not a Christian, his face isn’t orange, his hair…
Cuomo may be theatrical, but he’s much closer to real and had a bigger heart.
Everything you said is exactly what I have been thinking these last weeks. Governor Cuomo has impressed me mightily; I was not a fan before. I look forward to his press conferences. I truly believe his concern is nationwide and his desire to show the rest of the country that NY is a picture of their immediate future is on the mark.
Thanks for an insightful article. My fears for this country go beyond the resolution of this pandemic.
Spot on Jon! I watch Cuomo religiously (maybe a revealing adverb?), and your insightful and thoughtful analysis is a more articulate description of how I feel. Thank you.
Oh my…I think you have made this much more interesting for me…I’m not much of a pop culture person but you’ve got my attention with this one! Bravo! Excellent writing Jon!
Our Governor Newsome here in California…he and I would prob disagree on a few things…respectively I think…he has done a great job at being truthful, direct and respectful about this virus and it’s issues. I am happily surprised by this. It’s a time to bring us together, be there for each other…and I feel that he and Gov. Cuomo are doing this….sure, maybe not only for this but for their future aspirations…but we can cross that bridge if and when it comes.
Right now, the bridge we are on is a hard one to cross. Let’s help get there together these men are saying.
Well done….and well played ?
Jon,
Thank you for this perceptive analysis. At a time when every news report is presented in a partisan tainted “either/or” format, your impartial, unvarnished “and/both” opinion delivered from the insightful vantage point of a former tv producer/political writer, is most welcome. Your words cut to the core of issues. You have clearly offered a great take on a modern unfolding Greek tragedy and Shakespearean drama.
It will be interesting to see how the play ends.
Thanks for sharing.
A brilliant article. As a 73 year old diabetic (well managed, but just the same), if some had their way, I’d be a sacrificial lamb on the alter of the economy. Anxiety rules my days and I’ve even considered moving to some other country. Now I have no money left in my IRA (I assume since I’m afraid to look) to even do that. To hear Cuomo say “We can’t let anybody die, he says, we can’t write anybody off. His eloquent plea to save every life, including the sick and the elderly, shined as one of the high points in the history of great leadership” gives me some hope going forward.
So enlightening! Thank you!
P.E.R.F.E.C.T.
Brilliantly written!! I have been watching this play out and have fallen in love with the Cuomo Brothers rise!
Many of the Governors (Newsom, Cuomo, DeWine, Murphy, Lamont) have shown far greater leadership than anyone in or near the WH. Cuomo’s briefings are “appointment television” these days — without saying a word he is exposing how small and petty Trump really is. Think about this….Cuomo almost never fails to mention the human dimension of this pandemic, the people who are (as you say) at the bottom of the pile, the “call your mother” sorts of comments. Trump NEVER speaks of this. He talks in a monotone because those remarks were written for him — he is a sociopath, without empathy, so it’s simply not in him to be concerned about actual people. This is the triumph of Cuomo’s approach. But God help us, he is not in charge of the country.
I look forward to your musings everyday, its become a ritual along with my tea and the the hint of California dawn. Thank you so much for taking the time to think about things, giving a new perspective.
Wonderful article. As a Canadian we are not quite as engulfed in US politics but pretty hard to escape it for more than a few minutes at a time, plus we spend our winters in the US. Cuomo may be a true politician but he presents himself in such a way that you want to believe him versus #45, who pretty well defies you to believe a word that exits his lips, due to his nastiness and pettiness. Right about now, almost anyone would be a better leader than the current one, because in his case he is NOT! Thank you for this great piece.
A fascinating and enlightening article. I feel hopeful listening to Governor Cuomo and disappointed/incredulous listening to President Trump. Your article has given me better insight into the machinations of these press conferences. Thank you.
I started grinning when I got about 1/3 of the way through your article and could not agree with you more. Living in Oregon, far removed from DC or NY, I’d given up on federal politics in general. Facts, experts, and science don’t seem to be applied to any decisions made. Cuomo has given me a spark of hope that someone who gives a damn about the people can rise through the ranks and be elected to the feds. Someone that truly understands how government works and has consideration for the people who elected them. The love between the brothers is a balm from the divisiveness displayed elsewhere.
Wonderful article, spot on! I read it to my wife who is busy sewing face masks for the hospital. We love listening to Governor Cuomo.
Hi Jon,
Excellent analysis of what’s going on ‘behind the curtain’, I very much enjoy when you dip back into your old profession & the Journalist comes out, you have wonderful insight and a perspective that is unique, so thank you for sharing your thoughts, they are very much appreciated by this Canadian! I totally agree.
Sincerely,
Aisling
I enjoyed reading your comments this morning. I have found for myself, it doesn’t do much good to “discuss” politics with anyone on either side of the issue these days. Your article addressed a different aspect. Thank you.
Wonderful article….thought provoking and well written.
This is absolutely fascinating to me. I alternated between grieving that tv personalities are our new governing reality to wondering if this wasn’t always the case. From the Kennedy/Nixon debate changing the political landscape to actor Ronald Reagan’s leadership, to this dog and pony show, I supposed it’s been one big reality show for quite a while.
Sorry but Cuomo is not honest and open. They have the highest taxes, people in upstate NY have no say in state government. He did and does have the medical supplies. Only 3 people on the comfort ship. Sent sick people to other cities in the state. Lots of city residents went to FLORIDA and their summer homes in the adirondacks. If he had prohibited sick people from coming into NY they would not have 50% of the covid19 patients. Also why did he send money and doctors to Puerto Rico with NY tax dollars. And visits there quite often.
WOW-well done Jon. One of the best analysis of any subject I have ever read anywhere. Brilliant.
Absolutely, if the Dems want to beat Trump in November, they need to nominate Cuomo.
He has demonstrated himself to be the leader during what is the worst crisis that our country has faced in more than a generation.
Interesting compare/contrast. I have no issues with the content, but for the love of god, please check your punctuation grammar and organization. It DOES affect reader comprehension. Had you done that, it would be a GREAT post; as published, it’s only an OK rant.
Am sure you won’t OK this, but I wrote on this subject today. Seems we finally agree on something:
Covid-19: Successes and Failures in Leadership
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
Unfortunately, as the Covid-19 virus raged first in China and later in Italy and other countries, too many of America’s leaders were asleep at the wheel, brushing off and dismissing any possibility that we would see the same plague hit America.
Democrats and media were focused on a contentious primary season and Articles of Impeachment of the President of the United States. Republicans were focused on vigorous defense of an inept, weak President and preparation for the 2020 election.
Even the Mayor of New York City, Bill deBlasio was busy on the campaign trail, first as a candidate for President and later as a “surrogate” for Bernie Sanders.
In January, news of the globally spreading virus began to filter through the news cycles. Death rates were quickly rising in Italy, Iran and other countries. Cities were shutting down. The normally bustling streets of Milan and Paris were suddenly empty.
But in America, it was business as usual.
Impeachment hearings dominated the news — even though the result was a foregone conclusion. No way was a Republican Senate going to vote to convict and remove from office, a Republican President no matter how incompetent or ethically questionable.
Meanwhile, campaign rallies and debates continued as the first contests were held. The President was holding rallies around the country and playing golf. (To Trump’s credit, he did implement a travel ban on China early on, but other than that, he was woefully unresponsive to threat of virus.) The NYC Mayor was vigorously campaigning for Sanders, making TV appearances and speaking at rallies.
Then, in February, the first Coronavirus cases hit the United States taking out its first victims in a Washington state nursing home.
At first, we were told (wrongly) that this was primarily a disease of old people or those with compromised immune systems. Young, healthy people were virtually immune. (Not true.)
On the campaign trail, President Trump referred to Coronavirus as mostly a “hoax” and no worse than the yearly flu.
And even as late as March when Coronavirus cases were suddenly exploding and overwhelming New York City hospitals, the Mayor was still campaigning in primary states and telling New Yorkers to “continue on as usual.” College spring breakers were hitting the beaches and bars of Florida and thousands partied during Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
Indeed, the only leader seeming to take the pandemic seriously was New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, taking to daily news conferences to warn of dire circumstances, begging for vital hospital equipment and pressuring the inept NYC Mayor into finally closing businesses, schools and later, playgrounds.
It is said that during crisis we quickly learn who, among our leaders are up to the task and who are miserably failing.
Unfortunately, the Covid-19 crisis has illuminated far more abysmal failures in leadership than successes.
Failures on par with the Soviet Union’s lack of preparedness and initial reaction to Chernobyl.
From the, “I take no responsibility” President and the federal government to the governors of Florida, Lousiana, and Georgia (to name just a few) who buried their heads in the sand as a pandemic raged around them, to the Mayor of the most famous city in the world who had to be literally forced by the Governor to take basic and necessary actions. It is hard to actually list all the failures that now result in thousands of Americans sickening and dying on a daily basis and an economy in free-fall.
Yet, in the midst of catastrophic failure, there are also those profiles in courage and leadership and certainly our New York Governor is among them. Andrew Cuomo has been on the forefront of the pandemic hitting America (New York City representing the “epicenter.) and from day one, he has been transparent, forthright, commanding, creative and completely in touch with the gravity and unpredictability of this lethal virus.
No offense to Biden, but I wish it was Cuomo that was running for the White House as that is the kind of leadership our nation desperately needs at such critical time.
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Spot on! Thank you for eloquently putting into words what I feel and sometimes yell at the television as I watch both press conferences. I live in New York and while not always agreeing with the governor I have been very impressed with his handling of this crisis. I have fond memories from my childhood of listening to his father speaking. Not necessarily having an understanding at the time what he was talking about I remember appreciating how he spoke and I could sense the elegance of his word choice. I decided yesterday to not tune into Trump’s show until the actual content is provided by medical authorities and experts.
I’ve been reading your words for a long time and I think this is one of the best pieces you’ve written.
I don’t live in NY, but I’ve got two kids in Brooklyn. Cuomo’s calm, his truthfulness and his admitting when he doesn’t know something are really a comfort.
I think to govern correctly you’ve got to be a little ruthless and arrogant. Cuomo has both those qualities down pat. Trump is just arrogant. Cuomo has said he isn’t interested in running for the Presidency, but I wonder if this experience will change his mind.
Thanks, Jon. You and Maria stay safe.
From the first TV conference onward, I realized that Andrew Cuomo was not going to get walked on. He said and meant what he said, he hasn’t looked backward, he moves forward and gives each and everyone of us a voice.
He has showed us a way to not be afraid to speak up to our family and friends and speak the truth. We are not going to go gently into the good night. “Dylan Thomas”.
We are fighting the good fight. If we lose the battle, we will not die in vain. 1 Timothy 6:12
Enlightening, Job. Thank you.
It is interesting to note that the motto of Governor Cuomo’s high school, Archbishop Mallory is “Non Scholae- Sed Vitae” “Not for School – Foe Life”.
Thank you for a truly enlightening essay.