Luv Guv brought down by his own Cuomosexuality: Born into NY political dynasty and groomed for the top, how Andrew Cuomo stoked his Empire State-sized ego with Emmy and COVID books deal, before sex pest and nursing home scandals led to downfall
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's abrupt resignation marks a stunning reversal in fortune for one of the nation's top political figures, bringing his career to a crashing halt just a year after he was inundated with fawning pleas to run for president.
Facing certain impeachment over a scathing New York attorney general's report that branded him a serial sexual harasser, Cuomo swallowed his pride and announced his resignation in a video address on Tuesday.
It perhaps marked the closing act of the Democrat's larger-than-life political career, which saw him reach the highest peaks of public adulation before scandal brought him low.
Cuomo, 63, was groomed for the political limelight from an early age, cutting his teeth as his governor father's sharp-elbowed campaign manager. He went on to marry (and divorce) a Kennedy, serve in Bill Clinton's cabinet, and is older brother to CNN primetime host Chris Cuomo.
As politicians go, he was as close to royalty in the Democratic Party as they come, and wielded his power ruthlessly, crushing all enemies real or perceived.
Cuomo heads for his helicopter after announcing his resignation on Tuesday. It marks a stunning reversal in fortune for one of the nation's top political figures
Mario Cuomo is shown during a press conference with his family in 1977. From left: Six-year-old Christopher Cuomo, Mario Cuomo, his wife Matilda, and their son Andrew, then 19
Andrew Cuomo is seen right rear during his father's 1986 victory speech after winning re-election as governor of New York
Cuomo was born in Queens in 1957, the son of Mario Cuomo, a lawyer who would go on to become New York governor, and his wife Matilda.
Andrew Cuomo served as campaign manager during his father's successful 1982 campaign for governor, later joining the administration where he was known as the 'enforcer' for his role in ramming legislation through Albany.
A lawyer by training, Cuomo then went on to work as a prosecutor in New York City.
He later went into private practice and in 1986 founded the Housing Enterprise for the Less Privileged , which grew into a large provider of transitional housing for the homeless.
In 1990, he married Kerri Kennedy, the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy. The couple had three daughters together before separating in 2003, later divorcing.
In the early 90s, Cuomo used his experience with HELP to secure the chairmanship of the New York City Homeless Commission under Mayor David Dinkins' administration.
Andrew Cuomo shakes hands with New York Mayor Edward I. Koch, left, at a news conference in New York, Oct. 30, 1988. At far right is Bronx borough president Fernando Ferrer
In 1989, Andrew Cuomo, left, joins John F. Kennedy, Jr., during a radio interview in New Rochelle to discuss his housing initiatives for the homeless
Andrew Cuomo and Paul Simon attend Children's Health Fund Benefit on February 16, 1989 at the Sheraton Center in New York City
In 1990, Cuomo married Kerri Kennedy, the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy. The couple had three daughters together before separating in 2003, later divorcing
No doubt with the help of his family ties, he quickly rose in politics. In 1993, President Bill Clinton appointed him as an assistant secretary in the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
After HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros departed at the end of Clinton's first term under the cloud of an FBI investigation, Clinton tapped Cuomo as his replacement.
Cuomo was unanimously confirmed by the Senate and served as HUD secretary through the end of Clinton's second term, leading a push to force lenders to issue more mortgages for low-income homebuyers and diversify home ownership.
It was an effort some believe contributed to the subprime mortgage implosion that triggered the Great Recession.
In another controversial move, he created a program called 'Community Builders' with a staff of 800, without appropriation from Congress, that had a nebulous goal of connecting with local community groups and elected officials across the country to push the Clinton administration's agenda.
Senator Kit Bond, a Missouri Republican, slammed the program as 'Cuomo's personal army.'
One HUD official was quoted at the time describing Community Builders as 'Democratic ward heelers who act as a pipeline between Democratic city officials, party leaders, and the administration and the Democratic National Committee.'
Housing Secretary-designate Andrew Cuomo looks on as President Clinton applauds during a news conference announcing his nomination to the post in 1996
Then-HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo, right, helps work on a Habitat for Humanity home on June 5, 1997 in southeast Washington
Cuomo with his then-wife Kerri Kennedy at his side is seen announcing his first run for governor in 2002. The campaign failed, but he went on to win attorney general in 2006
Andrew Cuomo celebrates his election as New York Attorney General in 2006 with his father former New York Governor Mario Cuomo during a rally held by New York Democrats
Cuomo's first foray into New York politics went poorly, when he lost the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2002 despite strong fundraising.
In 2006, he successfully ran for attorney general, leading some Democratic politicians to label him the state's 'comeback kid.'
He was largely viewed as a ideological centrist - in 2018, he beat back a liberal challenge from 'Sex and the City' actor Cynthia Nixon - though he has moved left in recent years with the rest of the Democratic Party.
As his power grew, Cuomo built a reputation as an ambitious, ruthless politician who was willing to retaliate against perceived enemies and whose abrasive style in private often alienated others.
Earlier this year, Cuomo called a state assemblyman, Ron Kim, who had criticized the governor over the nursing home crisis, and threatened to attack him publicly, according to Kim. Cuomo would do just that a week later at a news briefing.
His years-long feud with liberal New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio gave the city's tabloids plenty of fodder, from the serious to the absurd.
In 2016, the pair fought over the fate of a wayward deer that had found its way into Manhattan; when the deer died, each administration blamed the other.
Then-Vice President Joe Biden appears with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to unveil plans for new infrastructure projects on July 27, 2015 in New York City
Cuomo sits with his mother, Matilda, and daughter Cara, on the floor of the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pa., on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in 2016
Hillary Clinton & Governor Andrew Cuomo appear together at Barnard College in 2019
From left, Michaela Kennedy Cuomo, Cara Kennedy Cuomo and Mariah Kennedy Cuomo stand with their father Gov. Andrew Cuomo at the New York State Executive Mansion last year
At times their animosity caused confusion during the pandemic. In the spring of 2020, de Blasio announced city schools would close for the rest of the year, only to be corrected by Cuomo, who said only the governor had the authority to do so.
'Cut the c**p,' a frustrated Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, implored both men in a Twitter post. Adams, now the Democratic mayoral nominee, is widely expected to win a November election and succeed the term-limited de Blasio.
It was the coronavirus pandemic that made Cuomo into a household name nationwide, transforming him into a hero in the eyes of many Democrats.
His coronavirus briefings, often carried live by nearly every television network, became appointment television at a time when President Donald Trump, a Republican, was struggling to reassure the public and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden was confined to his Delaware home.
Cuomo basked in the adulation and carefully tracked his popularity, reportedly demanding aides track which networks carried his daily briefings.
Cuomo's daily coronavirus briefings, often carried live by nearly every television network, became appointment television for many across the country last year
Andrew Cuomo speaks during a news conference, at the National Press Club in Washington last May. Over his long career, Cuomo has been known as a brutal political opponent
Cuomo holds up aThanksgiving-themed face mask during his daily coronavirus briefing at the Wyandanch-Wheatley Heights Ambulance Corp. Headquarters in Wyandanch, N.Y.
As the pandemic became increasingly politically polarized, Democrats came to view Cuomo as a hero, bravely instituting harsh restrictions when Trump (as they saw it) failed to act.
Young women across the country swooned for their liberal lion, and coined the term 'Cuomosexual' to describe their adulation of the Democrat. Many clamored for him to run for president, seeing him as the perfect foil to Trump.
Cuomo himself embraced the term 'Cuomosexual' in an interview with daytime talk show host Ellen DeGeneres in April 2020.
'Yeah, I think that's a good thing,' Cuomo told DeGeneres of the term, beaming with a smile. 'I don't think it's a bad thing.'
Cuomo also appeared several times on his younger brother's CNN program at the height of his fame, trading playful banter on the air.
'I've always been a soft guy,' Andrew Cuomo told his brother at one point. 'I am the Love Gov. I'm a cool dude in a loose mood. You know that. I just say let it go. Just go with the flow, baby.'
After delivering his 111th and final daily televised briefing last June, Cuomo gathered with aides at the Governor's Mansion to toast their accomplishments with beer and wine.
Some would later come to see it as the apex of his career before a fall from grace that came slowly at first, and then all at once.
Cuomo also appeared several times on his younger brother Chris Cuomo's CNN program at the height of his fame, telling him at one point: 'I am the Love Gov'
The governor made numerous appearances on his own brother's show last year, for lighthearted interviews that featured brotherly banter
As the pandemic ebbed in New York last summer following the first wave, Cuomo took a stunning victory lap that many questioned as premature.
He inked a book deal worth $5 million for a memoir titled American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic, which was published last fall.
Cuomo inked a book deal worth $5 million for a memoir celebrating his governance
In November, the TV Academy presented Cuomo with the International Emmy Founders Award 'in recognition of his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and his masterful use of TV to inform and calm people around the world.'
The Emmy award would come to be viewed by some as the most ludicrous moment of the pandemic -- an over-the-top plaudit that soon embarrassed the Academy.
The seeds of Cuomo's downfall were sown when his own top aide, Melissa DeRosa, admitted on a conference call with state Democrats in February that his administration had manipulated nursing home death statistics.
Cuomo faced furious allegations over his handling of nursing homes, after issuing an executive order early in the pandemic that required the facilities to accept COVID-positive patients, potentially spreading the virus to the most vulnerable.
Cuomo blamed Trump and denied any wrongdoing, and for a time it seemed that he had escaped the scandal unscathed, as the media largely ignored the controversy.
But the criticism opened a chink in Cuomo's armor that would soon prove politically fatal.
A billboard urging New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign is seen near downtown on March 2, 2021 in Albany, New York after sexual harassment allegations emerged
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo walks on the grounds of the Governor's Mansion following allegations that he had sexually harassed young women, in Albany, New York on March 12
People who've lost loved ones due to Covid-19 while they were in New York nursing homes attend a protest and vigil on March 25, 2021 in New York City
In December, Lindsey Boylan, a former aide to Cuomo who was running for Manhattan borough president, had been the first woman to go public with sexual harassment claims against the powerful Democrat.
Other women soon followed. Cuomo denied the claims, and refused all calls to resign, until a scathing New York attorney general's report last week concluded that there was convincing evidence that he sexually harassed 11 women.
Cuomo had weathered other potential scandals. In 2014, he disbanded an anti-corruption panel only nine months after he convened it, triggering a U.S. Justice Department inquiry.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan eventually concluded there was insufficient evidence to show any crimes occurred.
But ultimately, he was unable to escape the fallout of the twin sex pest and nursing home scandals. With blood in the water and his invincible sheen tarnishing, the political rivals Cuomo had kicked on the way up stood ready to kick him as he fell.
After the AG's report, allies abandoned him, President Joe Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined Democrats across the nation in calling for his resignation, and impeachment seemed a certainty.
Cuomo resigned in a video address on Tuesday, delivering a self-pitying 21-minute speech
On Sunday, Cuomo's most loyal aide DeRosa abruptly resigned, reportedly unwilling to defend him further in public.
In his remarks on Tuesday, Cuomo again denied all of the sexual harassment accusations but said further investigation and impeachment would create too much of a political and legal distraction for him to continue governing.
'My instinct is to fight through this controversy because I truly believe it is politically motivated,' he said.
''But when I took my oath as governor, I became a fighter, but I became a fighter for you and it is your best interest that I must serve,' he added.
'I think given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to government - and therefore that's what I'll do.'
Cuomo, second from left, celebrates with his father, former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, and his mother, Matilda, left, after winning re-election in 2014