Cuomo dodges blame for nursing home deaths during COVID


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ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith confronted former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo during a recent interview about the controversial nursing home crisis that unfolded during the COVID-19 pandemic. When questioned about his role in the situation, Cuomo delivered a lengthy response without acknowledging any wrongdoing.

During “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” the host pressed Cuomo about his accountability in the crisis and allegations of death count manipulation. The former governor, who recently announced his mayoral candidacy for New York City, responded with an extensive explanation about the pandemic’s unprecedented nature.

“No one really knew what to do. I had the best health officials on the globe, Stephen, working with us because New York had COVID first and worst, right? Because the planes were bringing it from Europe to New York for months and nobody knew,” he said. “So I had the best health officials that you could get, but nobody really knew what to do. And the worst manifestation of COVID was in the nursing homes. And this was a horrific situation. And God forbid anyone should ever have to go through this again.”

“In the nursing homes, we had to close visitation because you were afraid more people would bring in the virus so you couldn’t visit loved ones. And you had many people dying in nursing homes because, obviously, COVID preyed on the weak and the immune-compromised and that was nursing homes,” he continued. “So you had people dying in nursing homes — they couldn’t see their family even though they were at the end of their life. The families couldn’t say goodbye. I mean, it was just as painful a human situation that you could imagine.”

In his response, Cuomo described the situation as traumatic for everyone involved. He defended health officials’ actions, stating they worked with limited knowledge at the time. The former governor also claimed the crisis became politicized due to the 2020 election year, emphasizing that subsequent investigations found no wrongdoing.

Cuomo highlighted New York’s nursing home death rate statistics, pointing out that the state ranked 38th nationwide in deaths per 100 nursing home residents. He presented this as evidence of effective management by New York officials, particularly given the state’s early exposure to the virus.

When Smith pressed further about allegations of undercounting deaths for political gain, asking: “But respectfully, sir, they seem to be coming at you because they used the word ‘undercounted.’ And what they said was that it was undercounted because, at that particular moment in time, your star had ascended to another level … And that’s where the word ‘politicized’ or ‘politicization’ came into play because they felt that, for political purposes, you had undercounted,” Smith said. “And to that, as you reflect on that, was that a mistake in any way? Was there anything that you could look back on and say, ‘Maybe I should have done something different to make sure they couldn’t come at me with those accusations?'”

Cuomo responded with another extensive defense, maintaining his position on the state’s handling of the crisis. He acknowledged only one regret: his communication approach during the politicization of the crisis.

“What could I have done differently in retrospect? When it became political, Stephen, then I partially resented the politicization of it, if you will,” he said. “We were doing everything we could at that time to save lives and now you want to play politics? And you want to start with the Department of Justice investigation in the middle of this crisis?”

“I did resent the injection of politics. And I was probably not as communicative as I should have been because I thought it was political,” he continued. “And I resented, as I said, that politics was entering what was the most significant crisis of a generation. So, I would say that.”

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