Speaker 1: During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, New York Governor
Speaker 1: Andrew Como sent thousands of infected elderly people to their
Speaker 1: deaths and nursing homes. He should be ashamed of himself. Instead,
Speaker 1: he wrote a book touting his leadership. But now the
Speaker 1: truth has finally caught up with the governor. This is
Speaker 1: outlowed with Jianno called off. Welcome back to Allow with
Speaker 1: Giano Caldwell. I have a big show for you guys.
Speaker 1: My guest this week is Janis Deane, the senior meteorologist
Speaker 1: for Fox News Channel. She's also the bestselling author of
Speaker 1: Mostly Sonny, How I Learned to Keep Smiling through the
Speaker 1: Rainiest Days. In recent months, Janis has become a fearless
Speaker 1: critic of New York Governors Andrew Como for his handling
Speaker 1: in the coronavirus pandemic, especially his decision in March to
Speaker 1: order nursing homes to accept infected patients. Thousands of elderly
Speaker 1: people who died of COVID as a result. Among them
Speaker 1: were both of janis in laws, who passed away in
Speaker 1: New York nursing homes from the virus last year. Since then,
Speaker 1: Janie has become such a powerful voice that a growing
Speaker 1: number of Republicans are calling on her to run for
Speaker 1: governor in two I'll ask her about that. I also
Speaker 1: ask her about almost handling of the pandemic and much more.
Speaker 1: Let's go, miss Janice Dean. How are you? I am wonderful.
Speaker 1: It's so nice to talk to you, my friend. It's
Speaker 1: been so long since we we've seen each other in
Speaker 1: New York. Uh not been in studio for quite a
Speaker 1: while myself, But it's always warm when I see you,
Speaker 1: and your smile lights up my day. And I'm not
Speaker 1: just saying that to say something. You're really really full
Speaker 1: of joy and happiness. And I'm so thankful uh to
Speaker 1: know you, to call you a friend, to be a colleague,
Speaker 1: because I think you do bring joy to the world.
Speaker 1: Oh what do I say to that? I feel exactly
Speaker 1: the same way about you. I mean, it's been so
Speaker 1: long since we've seen each other face to face in
Speaker 1: the hallway, and when I do see you, I'm going
Speaker 1: to give you the world biggest hog. And um, you
Speaker 1: know you bring sunshine as well, my friend. No, I
Speaker 1: truly appreciate that. So thank you for coming on the
Speaker 1: allowed with Giano Caldwell and Jennie. I want to begin
Speaker 1: by playing a clip of you from Fox News a
Speaker 1: few days ago, just to set up the clip for
Speaker 1: our listeners. Back in March, New York Governor Andrew Como
Speaker 1: signed an executive order mandating nursing homes to accept elderly
Speaker 1: people with COVID. Thousands of people died in the nursing
Speaker 1: homes as a result, and then just this past week,
Speaker 1: New York Attorney General James released a damning report showing
Speaker 1: the Como's administration under report at the number of deaths
Speaker 1: due to COVID in New York nursing homes by perhaps
Speaker 1: fifty This could increase the number of actual deaths just
Speaker 1: in nursing homes from from around seven hundred the current
Speaker 1: official figure, to over thirteen thousand. And I just want
Speaker 1: to read this one line from the report. While we
Speaker 1: cannot bring back the individuals wel lost to this crisis,
Speaker 1: this report seeks to offer transparency that the public deserves
Speaker 1: and to spur increase action to protect our most vulnerable residents.
Speaker 1: Now here's what you said in response to all of this.
Speaker 1: I don't really know what to say. I when I
Speaker 1: saw the report and I knew that it was coming,
Speaker 1: probably an hour before it was released. I called my
Speaker 1: husband and I called my sister in law, and I
Speaker 1: said that maybe the angels one, Maybe the angels will
Speaker 1: have their day in court, and maybe this governor will
Speaker 1: be held accountable. Harris. I didn't want to be in
Speaker 1: this position. I'm not a political person, but my family
Speaker 1: was affected and I wasn't seeing the coverage. I wasn't
Speaker 1: seeing the questions being asked of this governor. He continued
Speaker 1: to pass the blame on everyone else and everything else,
Speaker 1: and he still to this day, will not accept any responsibility.
Speaker 1: And there were law suits, and there were journalists that
Speaker 1: wanted to do good and get those numbers for all
Speaker 1: of the families that deserved them. And finally today there
Speaker 1: is a ray of light. There is sunshine and darkness,
Speaker 1: and I thank this Attorney General. I know that there
Speaker 1: have been thousands of families that have written letters and
Speaker 1: have wanted to have answers, and I'm so grateful on
Speaker 1: behalf of all of them for giving me love and support,
Speaker 1: because this is never a role I thought I would
Speaker 1: ever be in, Harris. But I'm so grateful today that
Speaker 1: justice might be served. Wow, and I gotta tell you,
Speaker 1: listening to that makes me want to cry. Those words
Speaker 1: are just sincerely so powerful. And to be a fighter
Speaker 1: for thousands of people that you don't even know, um
Speaker 1: on behalf of your family and many many others, just
Speaker 1: to see justice done. I mean that that's just such
Speaker 1: an awesome, awesome action that you've taken. And I want
Speaker 1: to thank you personally for that. And if you could
Speaker 1: just elaborate, elaborate on what you're feeling, because it is
Speaker 1: new report. What are your thoughts on the findings, How
Speaker 1: are you feeling, how is your family feeling in doing
Speaker 1: I teered up when I heard that because it's the
Speaker 1: first time I've heard it back, and it's hard because
Speaker 1: that's raw. That was raw emotion. I remember Harris asking
Speaker 1: me or the producer of Harris's show, UM, Rachel, who
Speaker 1: I love, Rachel mcintee, who I've worked with for seventeen years,
Speaker 1: and she emailed me and she said, will you come
Speaker 1: on with Harris? UM? And the report had just been issued,
Speaker 1: so I was looking over it, UM and I hadn't
Speaker 1: read all of it, but I knew what it what
Speaker 1: it had, and it had information that we have been
Speaker 1: wanting for months. For ten months, we knew this governor
Speaker 1: was hiding the numbers. And to know that the Attorney General,
Speaker 1: who was a Democrat by the way, who was endorsed
Speaker 1: by Cuomo, who conducted her own investigation into this governor
Speaker 1: and came up with the answers we've been wanting for
Speaker 1: so many months. It was like a ray of light.
Speaker 1: But I will say it's just a door opening, because
Speaker 1: I truly want this governor and his administration and his
Speaker 1: Health Department to have to go in front of a
Speaker 1: jury and have to tell the truth, the whole truth,
Speaker 1: and nothing but the truth in front of families who
Speaker 1: lost loved ones because of this governor's mandate to put
Speaker 1: infected patients into nursing homes when we had no idea
Speaker 1: that was happening, We never got a heads up, and
Speaker 1: to have that happened for forty six days. So this
Speaker 1: is hopefully a beginning. UM. Yesterday or Friday, the governor
Speaker 1: held a press conference and he didn't even talk about
Speaker 1: the a G report until reporters at the very end
Speaker 1: we asked questions, and he went back to the old
Speaker 1: ways of blaming everyone else, still blaming Trump Um. And
Speaker 1: so I feel like he's learned nothing. He still won't
Speaker 1: even though his Attorney General in New York has come
Speaker 1: out with his damning seventy six page report, he continues
Speaker 1: to deny and blame and not accept any accountability. So
Speaker 1: I would like a bipartisan investigation with subpoena power where
Speaker 1: we can put him on the stand and a jury
Speaker 1: determines what happens next. And you believe that there was
Speaker 1: in fact a cover up here. I do, I really do,
Speaker 1: because if he had nothing to hide, why would he
Speaker 1: work so hard not to give us those numbers. I mean,
Speaker 1: he went on television and was using bad statistics because
Speaker 1: he wouldn't give us the numbers he was alway he
Speaker 1: would always say, oh, well, you know, New York is
Speaker 1: forty six of fifty states in terms of nursing home deaths.
Speaker 1: So he was using the numbers that were not legit
Speaker 1: to help his cause in saying I didn't do anything
Speaker 1: wrong and it wasn't my mandate to put COVID positive
Speaker 1: patients into nursing homes. So he would lie every day, um,
Speaker 1: and we had the Justice Department has an investigation into this.
Speaker 1: There were several reporters using the Foil Act to get
Speaker 1: the numbers and kept being stone walled and kept his
Speaker 1: Health department would say, we don't have we don't have
Speaker 1: access to the numbers. Will get back to you. We
Speaker 1: we need to do more research. And yet when the
Speaker 1: a G Report came out, all of a sudden, they
Speaker 1: had the numbers, or at least part of them. I
Speaker 1: want to turn down to the aftermath of almost lethal
Speaker 1: executive order and how he's trying to portray himself as
Speaker 1: a hero when he's really more of a villain. But
Speaker 1: first he was a quick word from our sponsor now
Speaker 1: and responses report, which was interesting to me to hear
Speaker 1: from the governor. He was incredibly defensive. During a press conference,
Speaker 1: he dismissed his critics as politically motivated and said this
Speaker 1: exact quote, who cares whether or died in the hospital,
Speaker 1: died in a nursing home. They died. How callous can
Speaker 1: you be to make a statement like that? That's him,
Speaker 1: That's that's him. Unfortunately, I've covered him for ten months
Speaker 1: now and he he just has no empathy. I really
Speaker 1: think it's a personality defect. I know that sounds that
Speaker 1: might sound callous, but I do think that's part of
Speaker 1: his personality, he doesn't. He isn't able to have any
Speaker 1: empathy at all for the families. If he had come
Speaker 1: out in the very beginning and said, I'm sorry for
Speaker 1: your loss. I made a mistake. I got bad information.
Speaker 1: I shouldn't have put those patients into nursing homes. I
Speaker 1: feel so bad. Um, we wouldn't be here today. I
Speaker 1: would have accepted that had he said, you know, we're
Speaker 1: in the middle of a hundred year pandemic and no
Speaker 1: one saw this coming, and I am so sorry for
Speaker 1: your loss. Had he done that, but he's not capable
Speaker 1: of doing that. Um, And so you know my responses.
Speaker 1: I always assumed he really really didn't care about our families,
Speaker 1: and now with that response, I'm sure of that. And
Speaker 1: tried to leave both your in law's dot in New
Speaker 1: York nursing homes from the coronavirus last year. I was
Speaker 1: hoping you could take us back to that day and
Speaker 1: just describe what that Tom was like for you and
Speaker 1: your husband on a personal level, if you're comfortable doing so.
Speaker 1: Of course, I mean it's very difficult, but I will
Speaker 1: tell you I feel like it was his parents, my
Speaker 1: husband's parents making indeed, that gave me the strength to continue,
Speaker 1: because there were many times where I just thought, I'm
Speaker 1: not going to win this fight. He's too powerful and
Speaker 1: he has too many people protecting him. You know. I
Speaker 1: felt sometimes like I was this little aunt with the
Speaker 1: boulder going up the mountain, and they were great, wonderful people. Um.
Speaker 1: And you know, I feel for people like my husband
Speaker 1: and I who for many months didn't know how to
Speaker 1: care for his parents properly. They were in a four
Speaker 1: story walk up in Brooklyn for you know, over fifty years,
Speaker 1: and their health was ailing them. And you know, my
Speaker 1: husband had aids that would go in to try to
Speaker 1: take care of them, but there were still trips to
Speaker 1: the e er and trips to the hospital. So there
Speaker 1: are many months of trying to come up with a
Speaker 1: way that we can take care of them and have
Speaker 1: twenty four hour care. And Sean's dad had dementia and
Speaker 1: he his health was failing him. His mom had trouble walking,
Speaker 1: but her mind was spry. I mean she you know,
Speaker 1: every day he talked to her, sometimes two or three
Speaker 1: times a day. She was just this wonderful, wonderful woman. Um.
Speaker 1: But yeah, they both needed care. So we had to
Speaker 1: get his dad first. In better shape to join his
Speaker 1: mom and assisted living facility which was close to us
Speaker 1: on Long Island, so that we could go visit them,
Speaker 1: bring the family um, and that was the plan. So
Speaker 1: Mickey was in a nursing home for rehab to get
Speaker 1: him in better health to join his wife. D and
Speaker 1: coronavirus came in shortly after that, and we were in quarantine. UM,
Speaker 1: we weren't able to see them. We didn't even know
Speaker 1: his father was sick until a Saturday morning in late
Speaker 1: March when we got a call saying he wasn't feeling
Speaker 1: well and he had a fever, and and then three
Speaker 1: hours later we got a call saying he had died.
Speaker 1: So we had we had no idea he was ill.
Speaker 1: And I remember getting a phone call a week or
Speaker 1: two before he got sick saying that he was going
Speaker 1: to be moved to another floor to allow more to
Speaker 1: allow more UH people in, to allow more people to
Speaker 1: come into the nursing home. And so that was a
Speaker 1: red flag for me, especially when I started to find
Speaker 1: out about the governor's mandate to put infected patients into
Speaker 1: nursing homes. So his dad, we lost his dad first,
Speaker 1: and then my husband had to tell his mom about
Speaker 1: his dad passing away. That was the hardest thing he
Speaker 1: ever had to do. And she got sick and was
Speaker 1: transported to the hospital and she was diagnosed with COVID
Speaker 1: and she died shortly after being transported to the hospital.
Speaker 1: And her number didn't count because the governor didn't count
Speaker 1: those who got COVID in their elder care facilities but
Speaker 1: died in the hospital. So that's what I've been fighting for,
Speaker 1: That's what I have been vocal about, is the two things.
Speaker 1: The COVID positive patients in the nursing homes for forty
Speaker 1: six days because of the governor's executive order and the
Speaker 1: fact that he wasn't counting those that died in the hospital.
Speaker 1: And so the release of the a G report last
Speaker 1: week helped bring some of those answers. So again we
Speaker 1: see a governor who was looking to manipulate a situation
Speaker 1: in his favor. Meanwhile your family and many other of
Speaker 1: families and pretty much suffered the consequences. You know, this
Speaker 1: is this is such a tough interview because it's such
Speaker 1: a serious subject matter, and as one where you have
Speaker 1: an official who's in power, who's decision making and still
Speaker 1: impacting the lives of thousands of people, millions actually in
Speaker 1: the New York State, and it's just troubling that there's
Speaker 1: been no apology, there's been no confession. Um. In fact,
Speaker 1: he's tried to say that he's pretty much been a
Speaker 1: hero in a way. And I'm kind of confused about
Speaker 1: what was the initial reasoning for this executive order as
Speaker 1: you understand it. Do you know what the rationale was
Speaker 1: to send COVID patients was at the idea to prevent
Speaker 1: hospitals from being overcrowded with COVID patients. Uh, what was it?
Speaker 1: Do you know? We don't, um, And that's one of
Speaker 1: the reasons why I think we have to have an investigation. So,
Speaker 1: you know, the excuse is they didn't want to overwhelm
Speaker 1: the hospitals, that they had to put these COVID positive
Speaker 1: patients somewhere, and that they thought the nursing homes would
Speaker 1: have the you know, the proper facilities to do that,
Speaker 1: the proper equipment to do that, and as it turns out,
Speaker 1: they didn't, and they weren't allowed to test the patients
Speaker 1: coming in. They didn't want to discriminate against the patients.
Speaker 1: It actually says in the order you you you don't
Speaker 1: you don't test these people, you know, you have to
Speaker 1: accept them. And the nursing home owner owners and the
Speaker 1: operators that I've spoken with always thought that they could
Speaker 1: not turn them away. Uh. And the governor likes to say, well,
Speaker 1: it was based on it was you know, the federal government,
Speaker 1: it was the CDC and that, and that's pretty much
Speaker 1: been proven wrong. Um. We had the Comfort Ship, we
Speaker 1: had the Jabbt Center, and we had other makeshift hospitals
Speaker 1: that taxpayers spent millions of dollars on to put patients in.
Speaker 1: And my question has always been why weren't they used
Speaker 1: for the overflow of COVID positive patients instead of putting
Speaker 1: them into nursing homes. There was a Wall Street Journal
Speaker 1: report that was issued a couple of months ago that
Speaker 1: said that Cuomo was told by one of his hospital lobbyists,
Speaker 1: who's a good friend of his and who has given
Speaker 1: millions of dollars to his campaign, that he was the
Speaker 1: one who suggested to put the patients into nursing homes.
Speaker 1: So this is, you know, this is bigger than all
Speaker 1: of us. To be honest with you, UM, I really
Speaker 1: think that there is a money trail there's corruption. Um.
Speaker 1: But you know, I'm only one person, and you know
Speaker 1: I can't. I would love to be spend all of
Speaker 1: my time trying to find these answers. Um. But but
Speaker 1: that's you know, that's where I hope this opens up
Speaker 1: doors to further investigations, to find truth and to help
Speaker 1: those families feel like there is closure. We we never
Speaker 1: had a waker a funeral, and we're Catholic, we never
Speaker 1: had last rites. My husband never saw his parents at
Speaker 1: the He was called when his mom was in the hospital.
Speaker 1: She died in the hospital and he was told she
Speaker 1: he could go see her when she had passed away
Speaker 1: in a room in a hospital Channis. It's terrible, I
Speaker 1: know it is. It's terrible. Wow. Oh jeez, you're a
Speaker 1: good man, you know you are. You but I'm so sorry,
Speaker 1: I really am. I'm really so sorry. I know you are.
Speaker 1: And that means everything. I mean, you know, that's all
Speaker 1: we wanted. We just wanted an apology or something. We
Speaker 1: never we never got it, you know, we never got
Speaker 1: it from him. For the administration, you know, they just
Speaker 1: continue to blame others and he still continues to do that.
Speaker 1: That's a powerful point. Janice let's take a quick break
Speaker 1: now and continue the conversation in a moment. And you
Speaker 1: know what's um particularly interesting about this. He wrote this book,
Speaker 1: as you know, last year, American Crisis Leadership Lessons from
Speaker 1: COVID nineteen Pandemic, which really should be a one sentence book,
Speaker 1: which says, don't do what I did, um honestly. And
Speaker 1: he's trying to portray himself like a Linking or Lincoln
Speaker 1: or Churchill. And it's just so upsetting. And I know
Speaker 1: you're very upset by this because there's no accountability. And
Speaker 1: we elect these people, we put them in office with
Speaker 1: the understanding of them leading through in situations like this,
Speaker 1: crises like this one that we've never experienced before. But
Speaker 1: the truth is will always be to take accountability, take
Speaker 1: responsibility for your actions. And clearly he's not done that,
Speaker 1: he's not at all. No. And he actually I wrote
Speaker 1: an op ed a few weeks ago because I wanted
Speaker 1: to write about the tragic rise of this person. You
Speaker 1: know how media enabled him to celebrate himself amidst a crisis.
Speaker 1: And he was speaking at Riverside Church and he said,
Speaker 1: a good leader will accept his mistakes. And you know,
Speaker 1: and and admit them. He actually said that in a
Speaker 1: speech at Riverside Church, and I I thought to myself,
Speaker 1: My god, does this man not you know, take his
Speaker 1: own advice, you know? And he was. But it's it's
Speaker 1: unbelievable to me that he was able to promote and
Speaker 1: sell this book for months. It was on the New
Speaker 1: York Times bestseller list. The Nursing Home issue was about
Speaker 1: two pages of that book. And again he he blamed
Speaker 1: everyone except himself, the person that signed the order. And
Speaker 1: not only that, but he was revered in the media
Speaker 1: and and never asked the questions at all. Ever, never
Speaker 1: asked why he did it, Why didn't he use all
Speaker 1: of the facilities given to the you know, by the
Speaker 1: federal government, why he was why do we didn't have
Speaker 1: the total number of seniors that died um and given
Speaker 1: an Emmy award. I mean, it's almost like we live
Speaker 1: in this bizarre world where, you know, instead of UM
Speaker 1: journalists and people in the business UM asking questions, they
Speaker 1: were celebrating this man while we were while body bags
Speaker 1: were being piled up in storage trucks. What do you
Speaker 1: think of the mainstream media's refusal to hold him accountable?
Speaker 1: Of course, at Fox News channel. You're going on Tucker
Speaker 1: Show and everyone else's show and you're holding them accountable,
Speaker 1: and it's a very powerful spotlight. We we both know that.
Speaker 1: But there's these other publications and media outlets. In fact,
Speaker 1: you um were tweeting recently at NBC News and less
Speaker 1: to hold in the Today's Show because they censor it.
Speaker 1: One of your sensor, one of your friends who lost
Speaker 1: a loved one in the nursing home. And as you write,
Speaker 1: she wanted to say Andrew Como failed us in an interview,
Speaker 1: and they told her to say New York failed us instead.
Speaker 1: So they're still protecting him. They're still protecting him. It's
Speaker 1: it's unbelievable. And let me just say, I'm so grateful
Speaker 1: for Fox. I'm grateful for the New York Post. I
Speaker 1: am grateful for some of the local journalists that really
Speaker 1: are still doing the work of what a journal is
Speaker 1: should do, and that is digging for answers. You know,
Speaker 1: he only takes certain questions at his press conference from
Speaker 1: from reporters he knows will throw him, you know, softballs. UM,
Speaker 1: So he has been protected. Every you know, major network
Speaker 1: that he's ever gone on, has never really asked him
Speaker 1: the question about the nursing homes and if they do,
Speaker 1: they let him get away with the blame game and
Speaker 1: never following up. And to your point, my beautiful friend
Speaker 1: who lost her mom in a nursing home, and I've
Speaker 1: met so many wonderful families. I you know, that's one beautiful,
Speaker 1: um thing out of this moment of tragedy, as I've
Speaker 1: met so many wonderful new friends that have gone through
Speaker 1: the same thing. And NBC called her up because they
Speaker 1: were going to do a report on the a G
Speaker 1: Report on Thursday, and she's been interviewed a few times.
Speaker 1: She is very pub look about her story. And she
Speaker 1: told me that they sat down with her for a
Speaker 1: twenty minute zoom interview. It was a producer, so it
Speaker 1: wasn't Lester Holt himself. Um, it was a producer. And
Speaker 1: she's very vocal about Cuomo. She will start every sentence
Speaker 1: with Andrew Cuomo. Andrew Cuomo issued this order, I blame
Speaker 1: Andrew Cuomo for my mother's death. She's very She's always
Speaker 1: been that way the rallies that I've been to, you know,
Speaker 1: she has the sign that says, I blame Andrew Cuomo
Speaker 1: for my mother's death. And so she kept saying that,
Speaker 1: you know, Cuomo failed us. You know, I'm so grateful
Speaker 1: for the for this report, but I blame my mother's
Speaker 1: death on Cuomo. And the producer said to her, I
Speaker 1: want you to stop saying Andrew Cuomo and I would
Speaker 1: I would like you to instead say new York State
Speaker 1: failed me, new York State failed my family. And she
Speaker 1: the report aired and there was no Andrew Cuomo in
Speaker 1: there at all. They took that out and the next
Speaker 1: day she went on Facebook and she just said they
Speaker 1: censored me. They're still protecting him, and so yeah, and
Speaker 1: so you know what, I'm done. I'm done with um
Speaker 1: being mr nice guy. You know if if, if you're
Speaker 1: still protecting this man, Um, I'm going to call you out. Yes,
Speaker 1: as you should. And interestingly enough, the nursing home debacco
Speaker 1: wasn't his only failure. He also completely screwed up New
Speaker 1: York's distribution of the COVID vaccines. There has been several
Speaker 1: reports on the vaccines needing to be thrown saying that
Speaker 1: the vaccines needed to be thrown out after basically going
Speaker 1: bad because the state couldn't settle on who should get
Speaker 1: the vaccine first. It was a disaster. Basically, what are
Speaker 1: your thoughts on his failure with the vACC seen rollout?
Speaker 1: Another failure? Yeah, And I said the other day that
Speaker 1: if the nursing home issue doesn't get him, then hopefully
Speaker 1: the fact that he is still endangering lives with not
Speaker 1: being able to put the vaccine in people's arms, maybe
Speaker 1: that will make people pay attention to this governor and
Speaker 1: his failed leadership. They have had in place for many
Speaker 1: years a plan for a vaccine rollout in this type
Speaker 1: of situation where the counties take it over. Every county
Speaker 1: has a plan and they have they have practiced this plan,
Speaker 1: and it has been in place, UM. But he decided
Speaker 1: two throw that those plans out the window and again
Speaker 1: decide that it was going to be the private hospitals
Speaker 1: that were in charge of administering the vaccine. And so
Speaker 1: what does that tell you that he tells you there's
Speaker 1: deals going on, or at least in my mind that
Speaker 1: if he's asking the hospitals to do this instead of
Speaker 1: the plan that was put in place for many years,
Speaker 1: then there's some something going on. UM. And the fact
Speaker 1: that the online appointments that you had to make were
Speaker 1: like pulling teeth. I talked to so many people who
Speaker 1: were trying to make appointments online for their parents and
Speaker 1: their grandparents, and it was like you had to go
Speaker 1: through dozens of pages to get to the very end
Speaker 1: to try to get to a place to get the vaccine.
Speaker 1: And to this day, their appointments are being canceled or
Speaker 1: they're getting to the appointment and and they're there, they
Speaker 1: don't have a place anymore. So I feel like this
Speaker 1: is just another example of this megalomaniac who just can't
Speaker 1: let other people lead. It's got to be him. And
Speaker 1: the last I checked, we are supposed to be living
Speaker 1: in a democracy, not a kingdom. You know what he's
Speaker 1: putting lives in danger again. Um and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: I just at some point someone's got to take over
Speaker 1: and take this guy to task. How do you think
Speaker 1: history review him in ten fifty years do you think
Speaker 1: the botch COVID response will be his chief legacy? I
Speaker 1: do you know? If you had asked me a week
Speaker 1: ago before this a g report, you would have been
Speaker 1: I would have said, I just think I think he's
Speaker 1: going to get away with it. I think he's going
Speaker 1: to get away with it because he has too much
Speaker 1: protecting him and he bullies people. I mean, his administration
Speaker 1: has attacked me, has attacked my sister in law, my family,
Speaker 1: the other families, his UM, his people that he surrounds
Speaker 1: himself with, are online on Twitter attacking all of us
Speaker 1: instead of helping get vaccines into people's arms. You know, Uh,
Speaker 1: it's it's really incredible. I've I've heard many stories about
Speaker 1: reporters who get calls at midnight from one of his
Speaker 1: UM spokespeople yelling at them saying, how dare you put
Speaker 1: that tweet up? Take it down immediately? So he's revered
Speaker 1: and he's feared in this town in the state. But
Speaker 1: I've always said, I've I've got the angels on my
Speaker 1: side Channel, I've got the angels on my side absolutely,
Speaker 1: and I know that UM. When a reporter asked UM
Speaker 1: someone from his administration about you specifically, uh, they were
Speaker 1: very dismissive of you. Have you heard from the administration
Speaker 1: directly at all? Well, the times that I have written
Speaker 1: about the governor, they do ask his office for comment,
Speaker 1: and several times they've come back with instead of We're
Speaker 1: sorry for your loss, is there anything we can do,
Speaker 1: they've said, give us the names, or give us the
Speaker 1: nursing homes where your husband's husband's parents parents died and
Speaker 1: the exact dates, and it was like, prove it, prove
Speaker 1: your husband's parents died. Ye. Twice they did that. And
Speaker 1: then there was the time where his office said she's
Speaker 1: not a reliable, credible source except for maybe doing the weather. Yeah. Um.
Speaker 1: And then they came after my sister in law who
Speaker 1: has been very vocal on social media like I have,
Speaker 1: and Rich as a party, who is his main spokesperson,
Speaker 1: told her to get a life. He's called these families
Speaker 1: that have had lot that have lost loved ones a
Speaker 1: death cult. You know why where they're talking about recalling
Speaker 1: Gavin Newsom in California, and I think they should. They
Speaker 1: should recall this governor because his decisions are really cost
Speaker 1: in lives and has cost so many, way too many. Now,
Speaker 1: there have been reports that Republicans in New York and
Speaker 1: across the country are calling on you to run for governor.
Speaker 1: I want to ask you about that after we take
Speaker 1: a quick break. Now, you have been all over the
Speaker 1: place all of the media talking about your experiences. You've
Speaker 1: called for investigations, and there's been recent reports from a
Speaker 1: growing number of Republicans across the country and in New York.
Speaker 1: And I'm one of those Republicans who who's made this
Speaker 1: this statement to talking about you running for governor and
Speaker 1: challenging Como should he seek a fourth term in two
Speaker 1: What can you tell us any big news to break
Speaker 1: here on Allow with Gianno Calldwell, this is the place
Speaker 1: to do it, you know. Ah, Never in a million
Speaker 1: years would I have thought that at some point in
Speaker 1: my life someone would suggest me for a political office.
Speaker 1: It's it's crazy. Um, I'm flattered, and that's very kind.
Speaker 1: And I do believe that someone should get into politics
Speaker 1: if they really want to make a change and they
Speaker 1: don't want to do it for the reasons of you know,
Speaker 1: being in power or career politicians like Cuomo. I mean
Speaker 1: his his father was governor for many years and almost
Speaker 1: tried to run to be a president. And I believe
Speaker 1: this governor, this current governor, wants to be president someday. Um.
Speaker 1: I don't think I have the fortitude to do it.
Speaker 1: I really UM. I love my job so much at
Speaker 1: Fox and I've been there for seventeen years and they
Speaker 1: are like a family to me. People don't realize that,
Speaker 1: you know that, I know that they this is something
Speaker 1: they've never had to deal with a person that works
Speaker 1: at the company who has had a tragedy happen and
Speaker 1: all of a sudden have become an accidental advocate. They
Speaker 1: have been unbelievably supportive of me and my family and
Speaker 1: what I am trying to do. And you know, there
Speaker 1: have been reporters that have gone to our media relations
Speaker 1: people and said, well, you know, I see Janisteine at
Speaker 1: these rallies with a microphone, like, you know, what's all?
Speaker 1: What's that about? Isn't she just supposed to be the
Speaker 1: meteorologist And they have backed me up. And I'm so
Speaker 1: grateful for that. Um, I just again, it's very it's
Speaker 1: it's so lovely that people would say that, And and
Speaker 1: I think it's important that people who do run for
Speaker 1: office have challenges in their life or something that happens
Speaker 1: that make them really want to make an inspire change.
Speaker 1: So I'll never say never, but I will say I
Speaker 1: do so love my job at Fox. It would be
Speaker 1: very difficult to give that up. Yeah, that sounds like
Speaker 1: the response of a person who's really considering. I'm listening
Speaker 1: to everything is almost similar to what I had Lord
Speaker 1: Trump on the podcast she told me something like that.
Speaker 1: I'm like, okay, yeah, all right. Dean Kane just the
Speaker 1: other day was on the podcast and he's considering running
Speaker 1: for the Dean is great. He's amazing. Yeah, he's awesome,
Speaker 1: Like just a genuine person, very authentic, and we appreciate that.
Speaker 1: And you obviously are as well. Now, I know you
Speaker 1: love your job and you do a tremendous job at it.
Speaker 1: You also do a trem at this job at being
Speaker 1: an advocate for people who cannot speak up for themselves.
Speaker 1: They don't have a platform, and you've done it tremendously well.
Speaker 1: And you've put exposure on this issue that may have
Speaker 1: never even received it. Because of you, it is resonated
Speaker 1: with people's hearts beyond New York State, in d C.
Speaker 1: And all over the country, even the world. What better
Speaker 1: person to run for office? There's somebody who's legitimately doing
Speaker 1: it for the right reason for the people, and you
Speaker 1: have been doing it for the people. So what what
Speaker 1: would the main factors be that would go into your
Speaker 1: decision about possibly doing it? That I have no clue
Speaker 1: how to do something. I mean, I wouldn't know the
Speaker 1: first step at all, and I would have to check
Speaker 1: obviously with my family. I know my husband would support
Speaker 1: me whatever decision I made, um, and you know what
Speaker 1: my kids would think. So I haven't even gone down
Speaker 1: that road, my friend, even thinking about it, you know, UM,
Speaker 1: I would hope that somebody that who would take this
Speaker 1: governor on. And to be quite honest with you, I
Speaker 1: don't know if he's going to be able to run
Speaker 1: for a fourth term after this. I I you know,
Speaker 1: I feel like he might not be able to do it,
Speaker 1: and so how about I let you know, Okay, you'll
Speaker 1: let me know. It sounds as though maybe if he
Speaker 1: doesn't run, maybe you you may not do it. Maybe
Speaker 1: if he runs, I'm not I'm not sure. But in
Speaker 1: any event, what would your political philosophy be and what
Speaker 1: issues are most important to you? Even if I were
Speaker 1: never to go into politics, I think one thing that
Speaker 1: I would like to do in my career is help
Speaker 1: the elderly, is help the nursing homes. Because the one
Speaker 1: thing that this whole event has done is shawn a
Speaker 1: light on the fact that we need a change in
Speaker 1: the way these nursing homes are run. Um, there's a
Speaker 1: lot of shady business that apparently, you know from what
Speaker 1: I've seen that goes on, UM, and that needs to
Speaker 1: be fixed. We need to do this so that you know,
Speaker 1: our relatives are family members, are taken care of to
Speaker 1: the best of our ability. You know, UM Sean's parents
Speaker 1: were not doing well and I would have loved to
Speaker 1: have been able to physically put them in our homes
Speaker 1: and have aids in our homes. It wasn't possible. And
Speaker 1: for those people who aren't able to that, maybe there
Speaker 1: is a way to do that. Maybe we can find
Speaker 1: funding so that we can build onto our homes to
Speaker 1: have our loved ones you know, live with us and
Speaker 1: have the ability to have people take care of them
Speaker 1: in our own homes. Why can't we do that instead of,
Speaker 1: you know, putting all of our faith into these nursing
Speaker 1: homes that may not be doing it for the right reasons,
Speaker 1: to take care of our beautiful relatives, you know. So, UM,
Speaker 1: I do see my at some point being an advocate
Speaker 1: for the elderly and people our greatest generation that deserve more,
Speaker 1: that deserve to live in dignity, UH and and not
Speaker 1: have something like a pandemic and bad decisions by bad leaders.
Speaker 1: UM decide their faith absolutely and before I shift gears
Speaker 1: because I want to talk to talk about your book.
Speaker 1: One last question, if you were to run, would it
Speaker 1: be as a democratic, republican independent? It's hard to tell
Speaker 1: with you. Unlike a lot of our colleagues at Fox,
Speaker 1: I know you you have a very high role, let's see,
Speaker 1: as a senior meteorologist, and you when you talk about things,
Speaker 1: even on Twitter, you don't really have a political event
Speaker 1: of any kind. It doesn't seem like it's hard to
Speaker 1: detect what you may be on one insure or another.
Speaker 1: So I'm not sure if you're maybe more of a
Speaker 1: republican independent, Democrat or what would you care to tell
Speaker 1: us or is that a conversation for another day. I
Speaker 1: think it might be a conversation for another day because
Speaker 1: I do love the fact that they that people don't
Speaker 1: know what my you know, my politics are. I always
Speaker 1: said that the only red and blue that I see
Speaker 1: on my map are areas of high pressure and low pressure.
Speaker 1: I love it. I love it absolutely. Uh talking about
Speaker 1: your best selling book, Mostly Sunny, How I Learned to
Speaker 1: Keep Smiling through the rainiest days. For those who may
Speaker 1: not know, could you tell us a bit about the book?
Speaker 1: I think your message is so important especially where were
Speaker 1: are as a country right now, a lot of people
Speaker 1: are struggling. I wrote that book, UM because I we've
Speaker 1: all been through challenges, right I think. I think if
Speaker 1: you look at another human being and realize that you
Speaker 1: have never walked in their shoes, you don't know what
Speaker 1: happened to them, you know, throughout their lives to make
Speaker 1: them the person that they are today. And so we
Speaker 1: shouldn't judge. We should try not to. And I've been
Speaker 1: through many things in my life that I've realized have
Speaker 1: been hard times, but they've also given me strength I
Speaker 1: never knew I had. UM. Sometimes they've put me on
Speaker 1: a different path altogether to where I am right now,
Speaker 1: which is my greatest role as a mom, as a wife, UM,
Speaker 1: as a human being. And you know, and our audience,
Speaker 1: most of the audience knows that I was diagnosed with
Speaker 1: multiple sclerosis over fifteen years ago, and that was really
Speaker 1: one of the darkest times in my life where I
Speaker 1: really thought my life was over. I thought that, you know,
Speaker 1: all of these things that I had done in my
Speaker 1: life and my career were probably going to end because
Speaker 1: I was going to spend the rest of my life,
Speaker 1: likely in a wheelchair. UM. And so I looked at
Speaker 1: during that time for books or people who could who
Speaker 1: had been diagnosed as well with MS but were thriving
Speaker 1: instead of, you know, going down this this path of
Speaker 1: of uh, what was me type of thing, and you know,
Speaker 1: just sort of took the information and forged ahead. And
Speaker 1: I was able to find somebody who works with us,
Speaker 1: Neil Cavuto, who was very vocal about his diagnosis with
Speaker 1: gnosis with MS. I went into his office and I
Speaker 1: spent probably an hour with him, and he turned the
Speaker 1: television off and sat next to me and handed me
Speaker 1: clean x as while I told him that, you know,
Speaker 1: what happens to my career, what happens to my um?
Speaker 1: You know, will I ever get married or have children?
Speaker 1: Who's gonna want me, Who's gonna you know who? I'm
Speaker 1: gonna be damaged goods? And he just sat there and
Speaker 1: he listened to me, and afterwards said, you are going
Speaker 1: to be okay. You work for a great company that
Speaker 1: will build ramps for wheelchairs if we need them, and
Speaker 1: you will get through this. And that was sort of
Speaker 1: a light in my life. I will never forget him
Speaker 1: for that. I adore that man um. But when I
Speaker 1: wrote the book, I had that in mind. I wrote
Speaker 1: a book so that people who were faced with challenges
Speaker 1: and not just illness, but maybe you know, a death
Speaker 1: in the family or some kind of issue in their life,
Speaker 1: that where things are dark. I wanted to let them
Speaker 1: know that things can be dark, but through those challenges
Speaker 1: sometimes come beautiful destinations. And look at all of the
Speaker 1: wonderful things that I have done in a published after
Speaker 1: that dark period and after hearing just a good person
Speaker 1: giving giving hope. So that was what that book was
Speaker 1: all about. And Neil, for people who don't know, Neil Cavuto,
Speaker 1: is a big part of the reason why I have
Speaker 1: a contract with Fox News. And I'm sure you didn't
Speaker 1: know that, UM, But Neil, I said in his office too,
Speaker 1: and he was asking me a lot of questions and
Speaker 1: he just thought that, UM, I had a big, bright future.
Speaker 1: And he even told me, I think you have a
Speaker 1: very bright future in television and that's beyond Fox News,
Speaker 1: he told me. And I never forget how he to
Speaker 1: me is a big brother and a mentor. UM. So
Speaker 1: I'm thankful for for him as well. UM. You know,
Speaker 1: we may not always agree, but who does certainly on everything.
Speaker 1: But I really love him I do, and I'm glad
Speaker 1: that here that he's made such a positive impact on
Speaker 1: your life as well. Absolutely, he's one of the good guys.
Speaker 1: He really is. He cares, He's a He is a caring,
Speaker 1: wonderful human being that wants to help others. And sometimes
Speaker 1: that's what we need. Sometimes we just need to sit
Speaker 1: down and talk to somebody who can give us a
Speaker 1: perspective and give us good advice. Um, without judgment. That
Speaker 1: can change your day, and that can change your life,
Speaker 1: you know, absolutely, I love I love how you said that. Now,
Speaker 1: one last question for all of my listeners trucking through
Speaker 1: the code right now, how bad is the rest of
Speaker 1: the winner going to be for them? Oh? I love it.
Speaker 1: That's a good question, my friend. And I always say
Speaker 1: that I don't like forecasting seven days out just because
Speaker 1: anything past seven days is really a coin toss Um.
Speaker 1: I can give you all sorts of statistics and go
Speaker 1: down history and what kind of jet stream we've had
Speaker 1: in the past, and but to be it's with you,
Speaker 1: we we don't really know past seven days. Um. You know. Again,
Speaker 1: we can go out sort of historically and and look
Speaker 1: at different maps of of of you know what it
Speaker 1: looks like now in terms of what it looked like
Speaker 1: in the past. You know, the things that we look
Speaker 1: at in the higher layers of the atmosphere that makes
Speaker 1: the weather. But I will tell you that we right
Speaker 1: now are into one of the coldest periods so far
Speaker 1: of the season. And California is getting incredible amounts of
Speaker 1: moisture right now, which is a good news bad news situation.
Speaker 1: It's good news because it's going to help them with
Speaker 1: the drought, um, but they are getting an incredible amount
Speaker 1: of rain and mountain snow spreading over much of the West.
Speaker 1: So that's that's a really amazing weather pattern that's that's
Speaker 1: hitting them. That doesn't happen very often. And for us,
Speaker 1: it's it's very cold in New York and that has
Speaker 1: sort of, um, the fact that we've had Arctic air
Speaker 1: kind of move in. That's set the table for maybe
Speaker 1: some snow in our not so distant future, meaning you know,
Speaker 1: happening now, we're going to get some snow. Um, So listen.
Speaker 1: So far, it's been a pretty mild winter, let's just
Speaker 1: say that. And we're already into February, so listen. As
Speaker 1: much as I'd like to say that the rest of
Speaker 1: the winter might be Okay, We've had some pretty wicked
Speaker 1: storms in February and March that bring a lot of snow. So, um,
Speaker 1: I wish I could give you a better sort of outlook,
Speaker 1: But um, I'm just one of those people that says,
Speaker 1: I can show you the forecast within the next three
Speaker 1: to four days, and even that's not going to be
Speaker 1: sometimes very accurate. Well, I can tell you it's it's
Speaker 1: very sunny here in Florida's so I'm glad to know
Speaker 1: that I'm not a part of any of these snow
Speaker 1: east states like New York, Illinois or any of those
Speaker 1: Sunshine all day for you, my friends, you got sunshine
Speaker 1: all days exactly. That was That was at dinner with
Speaker 1: one of our colleagues and some friends, Lisa Booth, and
Speaker 1: she was saying, how love Yes, she's pretty awesome. She
Speaker 1: was saying how happy she is to be out of
Speaker 1: New York because the weather is stable, and so is
Speaker 1: the governors. On that note, On that note, because before
Speaker 1: we go, can you tell everyone where they can find you,
Speaker 1: your shows, your social media handles, and if you have
Speaker 1: any big projects coming up, because we would love to
Speaker 1: support them. I actually have a book coming out in
Speaker 1: March that I would love to come and talk to
Speaker 1: you about when it comes out. This this book I'm
Speaker 1: so proud of because it's not about me. It is
Speaker 1: about wonderful people doing kind things for others. And it's
Speaker 1: called Make your Own Sunshine. And I do something on
Speaker 1: Box News Radio called the Dean's List. I've been doing
Speaker 1: it for years now. It's a it's a good news
Speaker 1: story that I do every single day that I record,
Speaker 1: and I've gotten such wonderful feedback over the years, and
Speaker 1: I always thought to myself that that would be a
Speaker 1: good book some days, taking my favorite Dean's lists and
Speaker 1: putting them into a book and sort of expanding, giving
Speaker 1: everybody their own chapter. And so that's what I've been
Speaker 1: working on for the past year. It started pre pandemic, uh,
Speaker 1: and then I was still writing during the pandemic. And
Speaker 1: I will tell you it brought great joy and and
Speaker 1: brought me sunshine during a very dark period doing these
Speaker 1: stories about wonderful people doing extraordinary things for others. From
Speaker 1: you know, from a woman who um had a compromised child.
Speaker 1: She had Type two diabetes and they were very scared
Speaker 1: of her getting COVID, so she had a sign out
Speaker 1: of outside her her door, outside of her house that said, please,
Speaker 1: if you're bringing a delivery, UM, put the package on
Speaker 1: the doorstep and you know, just leave it there, because
Speaker 1: we have a compromised person that lives at this residence
Speaker 1: and a FedEx driver who saw the sign and who
Speaker 1: didn't realize he was being you know, video tape or
Speaker 1: videotaped because of you know, one of those nest cameras.
Speaker 1: He went back to his FedEx truck and got a
Speaker 1: you know, uh, sanitizing spray and sprayed the package and
Speaker 1: wiped it down and left. Didn't do it, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: to get any kind of um fanfare. He just he
Speaker 1: had a child that was also compromised and knew that
Speaker 1: he wanted to do anything he could h so that
Speaker 1: the package was safe for that for that mom and
Speaker 1: her child fild and she decided to put it on
Speaker 1: Twitter and it went viral. And she's the first story
Speaker 1: in the book. And I've become such good friends with her.
Speaker 1: Actually we spoke during the pandemic. She knew what had
Speaker 1: happened with my husband's parents. Um. She's been just such
Speaker 1: a light in my life. But that's an example of
Speaker 1: the type of stories that I focus on on this book.
Speaker 1: It's called Make your Own Sunshine. It's a beautiful book.
Speaker 1: It has a special place in my heart because I
Speaker 1: wrote a lot of it during a really dark time
Speaker 1: when we look forward to get in the book when
Speaker 1: it comes out, and it comes out in March, it
Speaker 1: does early March, early March, where we will be certainly
Speaker 1: looking out for that. Can you give us your social
Speaker 1: media handles please? Of course. So on Twitter I'm at Janisteine,
Speaker 1: and I'll give you a forecast, but there's also going
Speaker 1: to be you know, some stormy weather when it comes
Speaker 1: to the governor. Well that that's the only story weather
Speaker 1: we like. And then um, on Instagram, I'm at Janisteine
Speaker 1: fancy and then on Facebook at Janisteine. So I'm gonna
Speaker 1: have to follow you on Instagram. I didn't have your
Speaker 1: your Instagram. Well, I'll follow you right back. What's yours?
Speaker 1: My friend Gianno at Gianno calledwell, got it? So that's
Speaker 1: pretty easy, right. I gotta tell you, you've um really
Speaker 1: really provided so much hope in this conversation. I mean
Speaker 1: we laughed together, we cried together as it's awfully sad
Speaker 1: what has taken place. But when there's someone like you
Speaker 1: on the front lines fighting for those who can't fight
Speaker 1: for themselves. I think at the end of the day
Speaker 1: it will be very sunny. So we appreciate you, Jannistein,
Speaker 1: for all that you do and all that you mean
Speaker 1: to all of us. So thank you so much, my friend,
Speaker 1: for coming on. I truly appreciate you joining out Loud
Speaker 1: with Gianno called well. You are a wonderful human, my friend,
Speaker 1: and I I'm so grateful for your support and your
Speaker 1: love and your constant I don't know humanity, I guess
Speaker 1: is what I want to say, because I feel that
Speaker 1: you are such a good person and I'm grateful. Thank
Speaker 1: you so much. Thanks to jan Iss Deine for a
Speaker 1: great interview. If you're enjoying the show, please leave us
Speaker 1: a review and rate us with five stars on Apple Podcast.
Speaker 1: If you have any questions for me, please email me
Speaker 1: at out Loud at gengistreet sixty dot com and I'll
Speaker 1: try to answer them in our future episodes. You can
Speaker 1: also find me on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at Giano Caldwell.
Speaker 1: And if you're interested in learning more about my story,
Speaker 1: please pick up a copy of my best selling book
Speaker 1: titled taken for granted, how conservatism can win back to
Speaker 1: Americans and liberalism failed, especially thanks to our producer John Cassio,
Speaker 1: researcher Aaron Klingman, and executive producers Debbie Myers and of course,
Speaker 1: the former Speaker of the House of New Gingridge, all
Speaker 1: part of the Gingridge three sixty network,