Speaker 1: New York City is the greatest city in the world.
Speaker 1: There is no other place like it. And as in life,
Speaker 1: we have had times when we are at our shining best,
Speaker 1: and there are times when we struggle and endure great hardship.
Speaker 1: But we also know that we can handle a crisis
Speaker 1: because we have. Did I always do everything right in
Speaker 1: my years of government service, of course not. Would I
Speaker 1: do some things differently, knowing what I know now. Certainly
Speaker 1: did I make mistakes, some painfully, definitely, And I believe
Speaker 1: I learned from them, and that I am a better
Speaker 1: person for it. And I hope to show you that
Speaker 1: every day. It won't be easy, but I know we
Speaker 1: can turn the city around, and I believe I can help,
Speaker 1: and that is why I announced my candidacy today. I'm
Speaker 1: Mayor of New York City.
Speaker 2: Welcome back to the Stephen A.
Speaker 1: Smith Show.
Speaker 3: My next guest, served as the fifty sixth Governor of
Speaker 3: the Great State of New York from twenty eleven until
Speaker 3: his resignation in twenty twenty one. After three and a
Speaker 3: half years out of the spotlight. He's aiming for a
Speaker 3: political comeback. Please welcome the former governor of the Great
Speaker 3: State of New York, The one and only Andrew Cuomo.
Speaker 2: Welcome to the show, sir.
Speaker 1: How are you. I'm doing very well. Good to see you,
Speaker 1: and the pleasure is mine.
Speaker 2: Pleasure is mine as well.
Speaker 3: First things first, I have to congratulate you on a
Speaker 3: beautiful blue suit. You look a hell of a lot
Speaker 3: better than your brother Chris. I just want to get
Speaker 3: out of the way. I want to get out, Get
Speaker 3: that out of the way first.
Speaker 1: Okay, anything that's I'm not saying the heck of a lot,
Speaker 1: but thank you.
Speaker 2: I got you.
Speaker 3: You know that seventeen minute There was a seventeen minute
Speaker 3: of video on Saturday where you announced that you was
Speaker 3: running for the mayor of New York. Why is now
Speaker 3: the right time to return to politics in your eyes?
Speaker 1: Sir? Well, you know, I wasn't planning on returning politics, Stephen.
Speaker 1: I was. I did my tour of duty and then
Speaker 1: some I was housing an Urban Development secretary in the
Speaker 1: Clinton administration for eight years New York Attorney General, I
Speaker 1: was governor, and then I found out there was something
Speaker 1: called life, you know, after working in public service so
Speaker 1: hard all my life, and I was I had a
Speaker 1: good few years spending time with family, doing some traveling.
Speaker 1: I was enjoying myself, but I am really worried about
Speaker 1: what's happening in New York City. Frankly, not just New
Speaker 1: York City, cities all across the nation. But I'm worried
Speaker 1: about what's happening in New York City. And I was
Speaker 1: HUT secretary. As I mentioned, I know cities. I know
Speaker 1: the trajectory of cities, and the trajectory is not good
Speaker 1: for New York City. You know, post COVID people can
Speaker 1: be anywhere steven. They don't have to be in a city.
Speaker 1: It's not like the old days where you're captured. They
Speaker 1: can move, they can do remote work, they can do zoom.
Speaker 1: And if you if you can stay home and do that, well,
Speaker 1: then maybe you can move to North Carolina, you can
Speaker 1: move to Florida, you can move to Colorado. So the
Speaker 1: dynamics have changed, and then the quality of life in
Speaker 1: New York City has really deteriorated. And you're paying a
Speaker 1: lot of taxes to be here. You put those factors
Speaker 1: together and it is a bad situation for New York
Speaker 1: and it has to turn around, and has to turn
Speaker 1: around quickly.
Speaker 3: How do you think it got to this point of
Speaker 3: your estimation over the last few years.
Speaker 2: What would you attribute it to the state of affairs
Speaker 2: in New York.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a it's a good question, Steven, and I
Speaker 1: think it's something that the Democratic Party has to think
Speaker 1: about and reflect upon. Put COVID aside, okay, because COVID
Speaker 1: was a transformation nationwide, worldwide, societal transformation. But there's been
Speaker 1: a shift in philosophy here in New York City and
Speaker 1: other cities. But you've had this move starting in about
Speaker 1: twenty twenty, an anti police movement right, cut the funding
Speaker 1: for the police. Police are bad. We have thousands fewer
Speaker 1: police today than we had. Well, that has consequences. You
Speaker 1: cut the police, don't be surprised when crime goes up.
Speaker 1: You cut the police. Don't be surprised when people are
Speaker 1: afraid to go into the subways because of the rate
Speaker 1: of crime. We have a mentally ill homeless problem. People
Speaker 1: who are mentally ill, dangerously mentally ill to themselves and
Speaker 1: to others. But there's been a philosophy change where we
Speaker 1: don't enforce the law the same way and frankly, we
Speaker 1: do know in a favor right because if a person
Speaker 1: is mentally ill, the wrong thing to do is actually
Speaker 1: leave them on the street. The right thing to do,
Speaker 1: quote unquote, right thing to do is to get them
Speaker 1: the help they need. So there's been a philosophical change.
Speaker 1: They call it quote unquote progressive. I think it's anything
Speaker 1: but progressive. I think it's regressive, and I think that's
Speaker 1: contributed to it.
Speaker 3: You've been on the record and you've tackled the progressive
Speaker 3: side on quite a few occasions in your career.
Speaker 2: You know, that's a matter of record.
Speaker 3: What makes you believe that you're going to be equally,
Speaker 3: if not more so successful as the mayor than you
Speaker 3: were as governor tackling not just the issues, but those
Speaker 3: people who obviously support issues that you may not support,
Speaker 3: even on the left.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well let's separate the two issues, all right. First
Speaker 1: of all, took on the progressives. I believe I am
Speaker 1: a progressive, right, Okay, that word progressive has been distorted
Speaker 1: and misused. That's not a new term. That's not the
Speaker 1: term that came up with a few years ago. Franklin
Speaker 1: delen O Roosevelt. I have a great poster Franklin Delano
Speaker 1: Roosevelt for Progressive Government FDR. Actually took it from Teddy Roosevelt,
Speaker 1: who talked about progressive government. So progressive government has been established.
Speaker 1: My father was a progressive. Barack Obama was a progressive.
Speaker 1: Bill Clinton was a progressive and a man. To look
Speaker 1: at the word it stated for making progress, not this theoretical,
Speaker 1: abstract argument for the sake of argument, make progress. As governor,
Speaker 1: I made progress past marriage equality first, big state, changed
Speaker 1: the whole conversation. Fifteen dollars highest minimum wages in the
Speaker 1: United States of America. So no one did the progressive
Speaker 1: things that we did, and we got them done. New
Speaker 1: LaGuardia Airport, New Moynihand train station, et cetera. So making
Speaker 1: government work work, making progress, that's what the progressive is
Speaker 1: all about. It's not about being anti police. It's not
Speaker 1: about leaving mentally ill homeless people on the street. It's
Speaker 1: not about being anti Semitic. We have this DSA which
Speaker 1: spews anti Semitism, which just releases a toxic chemical into
Speaker 1: the environment. That's not progressive in my mind.
Speaker 3: You know, I asked just a couple of a few
Speaker 3: weeks ago, the Mayor of New York, Misteric Adams, was
Speaker 3: here in studio with me, and I asked him a
Speaker 3: question pertaining to you and the possibility of going up
Speaker 3: against you in light of some of the things that
Speaker 3: you've accomplished. You brought it up, marriage equality at twenty eleven,
Speaker 3: fiscal reforms, infrastructure modernization, gun control legislation twenty thirteen, the
Speaker 3: minimum wage, increase in paid family leave, all of these
Speaker 3: things under your umbrella as governor of New York, just
Speaker 3: to name a few.
Speaker 2: So going up against you.
Speaker 3: You would be a formidable foe, to say the least,
Speaker 3: because he intends to run for reelection. Of course, I
Speaker 3: want you to watch.
Speaker 2: My question to him and how he responds. Take a look.
Speaker 3: Let's think positive. Yes, let's say these allegations are gonna
Speaker 3: go away. Your issues campaign, you know, fraud and campaign finance,
Speaker 3: all of this stuff, we're gonna throw away.
Speaker 2: With all of that.
Speaker 3: It's you against Andrew Cuomo for the Mayor of New York.
Speaker 3: I'm a sports guy like competition. I mean, what kind
Speaker 3: of prediction would you put forth if you got if
Speaker 3: you had yourself, if you found yourself in a position
Speaker 3: where you were going up against Andrew Cuomo for the mayor,
Speaker 3: for the mayor's position, for the his honors position in
Speaker 3: the City of New York.
Speaker 1: Well, listen.
Speaker 4: I think that to me, and this is how I
Speaker 4: run my life. I'm not running against Andrew Cuomo or
Speaker 4: any of the other candidates. I'm running against myself play
Speaker 4: my best game. If I play my best game, it
Speaker 4: doesn't matter who's in the race, because there's other candidates
Speaker 4: in the race. And what I've learned in electoral politics
Speaker 4: right now, we're in the preseason. You know, we're not
Speaker 4: in the playoffs. When you're in the playoffs, your game
Speaker 4: has to be different. You could be great, you know,
Speaker 4: in the season, but when you get in the playoffs,
Speaker 4: let's see what you're made of.
Speaker 3: Now, Andrew Cuomo, we know about the allegations that have
Speaker 3: been levied against Mayor Adams. We know that the DJ
Speaker 3: stepped in took the case from the southern state of
Speaker 3: New York and the criticism that he has received in.
Speaker 2: Light of.
Speaker 3: Just a lot of people are accusing him of sort
Speaker 3: of being in bed with the Trump administration.
Speaker 1: How much of a.
Speaker 3: Role, if any, did that play in you deciding to
Speaker 3: join this race to capture the mayor seat for New
Speaker 3: York City.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Stephen, it didn't really. I've been watching what's been
Speaker 1: happening in New York City and what's going on in
Speaker 1: this new philosophy that has taken over in New York
Speaker 1: City besides from the mayor, frankly, what the other candidates
Speaker 1: have been saying. And I agree with the mayor. You know,
Speaker 1: it's not about anyone else. I'm here to tell voters
Speaker 1: what I think I would do and what I think
Speaker 1: the problems are, and my record and my experience of
Speaker 1: actually getting things done, which is everything. You know. First,
Speaker 1: it's interesting when it comes to the government, people don't
Speaker 1: factor an experience. Right. If you hire a plumber, you
Speaker 1: want to make sure the plumber has experience. You hire
Speaker 1: a landscaper, the landscaper has experience, But you're can hire
Speaker 1: a chief executive who never ran anything before. Right, So
Speaker 1: let's talk about experience. Let's talk about a record of
Speaker 1: getting things done. And you just started to go through it.
Speaker 1: I don't think there's been a governor in modern political
Speaker 1: history that has accomplished more things than I have accomplished.
Speaker 1: And that's what's getting it done is about, right, It's
Speaker 1: about getting it done, making change. Let people feel this
Speaker 1: progress improve my life, is what they're saying. Uh. And
Speaker 1: then juxtapose that with this uh with the other candidate's
Speaker 1: just saying, uh, they're anti cop Uh. They've allowed this
Speaker 1: homeless what I think is just a human tragedy to
Speaker 1: continue and go on. The affordability crisis. They can't figure
Speaker 1: out how to build affordable housing. It's bricks and mortar.
Speaker 1: You put them together, and you put another stack, and
Speaker 1: then you have affordable housing. You know, there's this this
Speaker 1: incompetence and apathy that is pervasive, and that's what's turning
Speaker 1: people off. Let's go progressive government, Okay, make progress, do
Speaker 1: something right. It goes, it goes. It comes back to
Speaker 1: Queen's Steve, do something for me. Let me see some results.
Speaker 1: You either produce or you don't. And I'm a producer.
Speaker 3: You are a producer. You're a three term governor. You
Speaker 3: were in line to be to get a fourth term.
Speaker 2: All right, which I think would have tied Rockefeller.
Speaker 3: For the record in New York State, or potentially to
Speaker 3: be president of the United States. But obviously there's a
Speaker 3: couple of things that derailed you. One of the things
Speaker 3: that came to mind was the whole nursing home crisis
Speaker 3: in the after you know, during COVID and how there
Speaker 3: was the deaths were understated, and it was under your administration,
Speaker 3: and you took hits for that. Explain that to our
Speaker 3: audience right now. How much culpability and blame do you
Speaker 3: believe you deserved and what role do you believe that
Speaker 3: ultimately played in you ultimately departing from the governor's position
Speaker 3: for the New York to State of New York.
Speaker 1: Yeah, let's go back to COVID nineteen. First, it was
Speaker 1: a situation like we had never seen before. Obviously, none
Speaker 1: of us and no one really knew what to do.
Speaker 1: I had the best health officials on the globe, Stephen
Speaker 1: working with us, because New York had COVID first and
Speaker 1: worst right because the flanks the planes were bringing it
Speaker 1: from Europe to New York for months and nobody knew.
Speaker 1: So I had the best health officials that you could get,
Speaker 1: but nobody really knew what to do. And the worst
Speaker 1: manifestation of COVID was in the nursing homes. And this
Speaker 1: was a horrific situation, and God forbid anyone should ever
Speaker 1: have to go through this again. In the nursing homes,
Speaker 1: we had to close visitation because we were afraid more
Speaker 1: people would bring in the virus. So you couldn't visit
Speaker 1: loved ones. And you had many people dying in nursing
Speaker 1: homes because obviously COVID prayed on the week and the
Speaker 1: immune compromised, and that was nursing homes. So you had
Speaker 1: people dying in nursing homes. They couldn't see this family,
Speaker 1: even though they were at the end of their life.
Speaker 1: The families couldn't say goodbye. I mean, it was just
Speaker 1: as painful a human situation that you could imagine. And
Speaker 1: I lived it. I was there. It traumatized me, It
Speaker 1: traumatized many. The health officials were making the best decisions
Speaker 1: that they could. I believe that federal officials, the state
Speaker 1: officials were making the best decisions they could. They were
Speaker 1: trying to figure out what the right quarantine period was.
Speaker 1: At first they said it was seven days and then
Speaker 1: they could release people the nursing homes or back home.
Speaker 1: Then they extended it later on. I believe everybody was
Speaker 1: doing everything they could and they just didn't have enough knowledge.
Speaker 1: But then, surprise, surprise, there was an election year and
Speaker 1: it became very politicized, and the Republicans blamed the Democrats
Speaker 1: and the Democratic governors, and the Democrats blamed the Republicans
Speaker 1: and the President wasn't doing enough. And then there were
Speaker 1: lawsuits and there were investigations, and the Department of Justice
Speaker 1: investigated it. The Manhattan District Attorney didn't investigation, the Attorney
Speaker 1: General did an investigation. Everybody did an investigation, and at
Speaker 1: the end of the day, everybody comes to the same
Speaker 1: basic conclusion, which is everyone did what they could and
Speaker 1: the health officials did what they thought was right at
Speaker 1: the right time. But many people died in nursing homes
Speaker 1: the bottom bottom line for the state of New York.
Speaker 1: And to cut through all the politics, they then count
Speaker 1: how many people died in nursing homes per one hundred. Okay,
Speaker 1: so it's apples and apples. Big states. Most state for
Speaker 1: every one hundred people in nursing homes, how many died
Speaker 1: State of New York is number thirty eight, which means
Speaker 1: only twelve states had a lower rate of death than
Speaker 1: New York. And that is saying something, Stephen, because you know,
Speaker 1: we had it first and other states had months to prepare.
Speaker 1: It just fell out of the sky for New Yorkers.
Speaker 1: But though the federal numbers the rate of death in
Speaker 1: nursing homes, we ranked number thirty eight. I would liked
Speaker 1: to be number fifty, but thirty eight. Only twelve states
Speaker 1: had a lower rate of death. I think that says
Speaker 1: New York officials. Health officials not only did their jaba,
Speaker 1: did it well.
Speaker 3: But respectfully, sir, they seem to be coming at you
Speaker 3: because they use the word undercounted, And what they said
Speaker 3: was that it was undercounted because at that particular moment
Speaker 3: in time, your star had ascended to another level. You
Speaker 3: were given the daily press conferences with COVID nineteen and
Speaker 3: what was transpiring. You were the most articulate voice in
Speaker 3: a lot of people's eyes on the rest. It got
Speaker 3: to a point where people the only person people wanted
Speaker 3: to hear from more than you was DoD Anthony Vauci,
Speaker 3: and that's because they were hoping he would come up
Speaker 3: with a.
Speaker 2: Vaccine for grind out loud.
Speaker 3: I mean, it got to that point, and that's where
Speaker 3: the word politicized or politicization came into play because they
Speaker 3: felt that for political purposes, you had undercounted. And to that,
Speaker 3: as you reflect on that, was that a mistake in
Speaker 3: any way? Was there anything that you could look back
Speaker 3: on and say, maybe I should have done something different
Speaker 3: to make sure they couldn't come at me with those accusations.
Speaker 1: Yeah, two quick points. First, on the undercounting. Did New
Speaker 1: York undercount? Now? When all the counting is done, right,
Speaker 1: it's over. It's been over for years. All the counting
Speaker 1: is done. People died in nursing homes, people died outside
Speaker 1: of nursing homes, people who are in nursing homes and
Speaker 1: went to hospitals and died, people who died. All the
Speaker 1: counting is done, That's where the thirty eight number comes from.
Speaker 1: So undercount, overcount, that's where the thirty eight comes from.
Speaker 1: With number thirty eight, only twelve states did better? What
Speaker 1: could I have done differently? In retrospect when it became political? Stephen,
Speaker 1: then I partially resented the politicalization of it, if you will.
Speaker 1: We were doing everything we can we could at that
Speaker 1: time to save lives, and now you want to play
Speaker 1: politics and you want to start with a Department of
Speaker 1: Justice investigation in the middle of this crisis. I did
Speaker 1: resent the injection of politics, and I was probably probably
Speaker 1: not as communicative as I should have been because I
Speaker 1: thought it was political and I resented the as I
Speaker 1: said that politics was entering what was the most significant
Speaker 1: crisis of a generation. So I would say that.
Speaker 3: That was January of twenty twenty one. In February of
Speaker 3: twenty twenty one, that's when the cascade of sexual harassment
Speaker 3: allegations came in your direction and people were accusing you
Speaker 3: of sexual arassment. I think they were like eleven different
Speaker 3: allegations levied against you. And then March of twenty twenty one,
Speaker 3: state legislators begin an impeachment investigation. You've spoken about that
Speaker 3: on several occasions. As you've reflected upon that, you also
Speaker 3: hit it, if not flat out said you thought that
Speaker 3: was being politicized.
Speaker 2: As well as you reflect on that.
Speaker 3: Now, what are your feelings reflecting back on that point
Speaker 3: in time.
Speaker 1: Well, that was about three years ago, right, Stephen, And
Speaker 1: sometimes time brings out the truth. I said at that
Speaker 1: time that, as you said, correctly, so number of women
Speaker 1: women made claims about inappropriate behavior. A report was issued.
Speaker 1: I said that was a political report. It was politically
Speaker 1: motivated and politically done. It was also a hyper political time,
Speaker 1: if you remember. But I said it was a political report.
Speaker 1: That was three years ago. Since then, everyone and their
Speaker 1: brother has investigated those claims literally to the tune of
Speaker 1: millions and millions of dollars, and nothing has come from
Speaker 1: any of them. So to time brings out the truth.
Speaker 1: I said at that time it was political, and three
Speaker 1: years later, millions of dollars later, in terms of people
Speaker 1: investigating complaints, nothing has come from any of those complaints.
Speaker 1: You know, my opponents want to talk about the past
Speaker 1: because they don't want to talk about the present, and
Speaker 1: they don't want to talk about the city and the
Speaker 1: condition that the city is in and what they have
Speaker 1: done to the city with this anti cop reduction of
Speaker 1: the police force. We've gotten to a place in New
Speaker 1: York City, Stephen, people don't even apply for the job
Speaker 1: to be police officer anymore. That's how much we have
Speaker 1: devalued the police and diminished the police. New Yorkers today
Speaker 1: just walk past homeless people who are clearly mentally ill.
Speaker 1: They walk past them like they don't see them. You know,
Speaker 1: it's really a horrifian state of affairs.
Speaker 3: I want to get a bit more personal, if that's
Speaker 3: entirely possible from this perspective. I'm from Queens, New York.
Speaker 3: You know, obviously you are as well, and my parents
Speaker 3: grew up Cuomo fans Mario Cuomo, your lady dead, God
Speaker 3: rest his wonderful soul. What a phenomenal governor he was
Speaker 3: for the state of New York and what have you?
Speaker 3: Everybody loved the Cuomos. And I'm thinking about his years
Speaker 3: of service, and I'm thinking about your years of service.
Speaker 3: How did it make you feel to have to depart
Speaker 3: from office in that fashion?
Speaker 1: And how long.
Speaker 3: Did it take you to get to a point where
Speaker 3: you dare I say, was your old self again to
Speaker 3: some degree in terms of wanting having a fervor for
Speaker 3: polity and a passion for politics again, talk about what
Speaker 3: that did to you.
Speaker 1: Yeah? Well, look, my father was my hero, right. I
Speaker 1: was started in politics with my father. I was in
Speaker 1: my twenties. I was his campaign manager for his campaign
Speaker 1: to governor, to become governor, I was twenty four to
Speaker 1: twenty five years old, and I was his advisor all
Speaker 1: through his term. He then helped me in my campaign
Speaker 1: and he was an advisor to me until we lost him.
Speaker 1: I would say that he would have advised me to
Speaker 1: do what I did at the time, because public service
Speaker 1: comes first, and you had this political fervor that you
Speaker 1: referred to and the legislature you know that, especially at
Speaker 1: that time, any claim of any sexual impropriety took off
Speaker 1: like fire through dry grass. Right, And as you mentioned,
Speaker 1: the legislature was talking about impeachment, and there is no
Speaker 1: real impeachment process in New York, so you would have
Speaker 1: entered into a period of chaos that we like, that
Speaker 1: was like nothing we had ever seen before. And that
Speaker 1: is the last thing my father would have ever suggested
Speaker 1: that I do. It's about public service, it's about the state.
Speaker 1: If this is going to cause chaos and stop the
Speaker 1: government from functioning, then step aside so the government can function,
Speaker 1: because the government and public service comes first. That's the oath,
Speaker 1: that's the value, that's the priority. That's what he would
Speaker 1: have said. He would have said, step aside, and then
Speaker 1: go figure it out and find out the facts. Because
Speaker 1: when they announced the report, I hadn't even heard of
Speaker 1: the women that they were mentioning. So I wasn't even
Speaker 1: in a posision to defend myself because I hadn't even
Speaker 1: heard of a lot of these women, right, So he
Speaker 1: would have said, step aside, let the government function. Then
Speaker 1: do your work and get out the facts, which we did,
Speaker 1: and then he would have said, I think in this moment.
Speaker 1: I think he would have said, New York City's in trouble.
Speaker 1: You know how to do this, You've proven you can
Speaker 1: do this. The right thing to do right from Queens.
Speaker 1: There's the right thing. You can't define it, but you
Speaker 1: feel it in your gut, you feel it in your heart,
Speaker 1: your soul. The right thing to do is to step
Speaker 1: in and be helpful, because I spent my life doing this,
Speaker 1: and making change in government isn't easy, and it's not
Speaker 1: for the faith of heart, Stephen, it is not. It
Speaker 1: is hard to make change, and you get this opposition
Speaker 1: from every angle. You go to change a light bulb
Speaker 1: in New York City and there's going to be a
Speaker 1: committee that opposes the changing of light bulbs. That happens
Speaker 1: to you. So it's not for the faith of heart.
Speaker 1: But I know how to do it. And I think
Speaker 1: he would say, the city's in trouble, and you have
Speaker 1: an obligation to step up.
Speaker 2: If that had not happened, would you have run for president?
Speaker 1: If if no, I would get a big show like
Speaker 1: you have, and.
Speaker 2: I think is small. So it's climbing as climbing.
Speaker 3: But big, sir, I got to ask you right now.
Speaker 3: Some have said we do not need a return of
Speaker 3: a Cuomo. They've questioned whether or not you're someone who
Speaker 3: can be trusted as a voter in New York City.
Speaker 1: To them, you say what well I say, it depends
Speaker 1: on what you want. If you want someone to play
Speaker 1: nice with the other politicians, go along, get along, don't
Speaker 1: ruffle any feathers, don't really make any change. Just talk
Speaker 1: about making change, propose things, but leave things alone, continue
Speaker 1: the status quo. I am not your guy. That's not
Speaker 1: what I do. If what you're saying is, or what
Speaker 1: the voter says is, I'm worried about New York. I
Speaker 1: think the city's in trouble. I'm anxious. I'm anxious about
Speaker 1: the subways. I'm anxious about the crime. I'm anxious about
Speaker 1: the homeless, mentally ill on the streets. I'm anxious that
Speaker 1: there's no affordable housing. I can't afford to live here.
Speaker 1: I'm getting priced out of New York. I need someone
Speaker 1: who can actually get something done. I'm tired of these
Speaker 1: politicians promise, promise, promise, and then nothing changes. And I
Speaker 1: want someone who is proven their ability to actually make
Speaker 1: things happen, then I'm your person.
Speaker 3: The governor is the leader of a state. The mayor's
Speaker 3: the leader of a city. You've been the leader of
Speaker 3: the state of New York for three terms. Why the
Speaker 3: mayor's position as opposed to pursuing or return to the
Speaker 3: governor seat.
Speaker 1: Well, again, I wasn't considering pursuing returning period. I was
Speaker 1: enjoying my life. I was going to go fishing and
Speaker 1: make fun of my little brother. You know, that was
Speaker 1: my plan. So I am It's not that I'm getting
Speaker 1: back in politics. To me, Steven, New York City at
Speaker 1: this moment is in trouble and I think I can
Speaker 1: help because I've done this all my life and I
Speaker 1: know these issues and these problems, and I know how
Speaker 1: to make a change. So it's about helping New York
Speaker 1: City in this moment. It's not about me wanting to
Speaker 1: re enter politics generally. It was how do I help
Speaker 1: in this moment? And look, I am Queens and Hut Secretary.
Speaker 1: I was in every state in the United States. Literally,
Speaker 1: I've worked with cities all across the nation. I've worked
Speaker 1: I've been in twenty two countries. There is nothing like
Speaker 1: New York and I love it. I mean I just
Speaker 1: love it. I love everything about it. It is who
Speaker 1: I am. It made my father, it made my grandfather,
Speaker 1: It's in my blood. And to see it suffering and
Speaker 1: to see it declining. Look, my father, your father handed
Speaker 1: you New York City and said, this is a gift
Speaker 1: that I am leaving you, beautiful New York City. Everybody
Speaker 1: around the world wants to come here. I'm leaving it
Speaker 1: to you. I'm putting it in your hands. And they
Speaker 1: placed New York City in our hands. In turn, we
Speaker 1: are going to turn around and hand New York City
Speaker 1: to the next generation. And I want to make sure
Speaker 1: that I hand over to my children, my three girls,
Speaker 1: a New York City that is at least as good
Speaker 1: as the New York City that I inherit. And really
Speaker 1: I would like to hand them in New York City
Speaker 1: that is better. That for me is what this is
Speaker 1: all about. I've been up, I've been down, I've been
Speaker 1: all around. I was going to the rumors for president,
Speaker 1: rumors for this, rumors for that. It's all garbage. At
Speaker 1: the end of the day, Steven, what did you accomplish?
Speaker 1: What difference did you make in people's lives? What exists?
Speaker 1: But for you being here, Uh, that's what it's about.
Speaker 1: And I believe I can make a difference in New York.
Speaker 3: How are you going to pull us off with the
Speaker 3: Trump administration in a White House? How would you pull
Speaker 3: that off for New York City.
Speaker 1: Well, Donald Trump is from New York City and he
Speaker 1: knows our problems here. He knows we need federal help.
Speaker 1: I dealt with him as governor. Remember, so there was
Speaker 1: a lot of back and forth. He's another one from Queens, yes,
Speaker 1: three of us Queen's boys. So I dealt with him
Speaker 1: as as governor. He knows our situation, he knows the
Speaker 1: situation in New York City. It is his hometown. I
Speaker 1: think that he wants New York City to appreciate him.
Speaker 1: I think he thinks there's an opportunity for him to
Speaker 1: do good things in New York City. And really we
Speaker 1: have to see what he does, what posture President Trump takes.
Speaker 1: And if you want to be an optimist, you say,
Speaker 1: he's going to say New York is his hometown and
Speaker 1: he wants to help. And to be honest, I've been
Speaker 1: on the right side of President Trump. I've been on
Speaker 1: the wrong side of President Trump. So I think it's
Speaker 1: it's up to the president, and it's up to the
Speaker 1: posture that he declares vis a VI new York. You know,
Speaker 1: what does he do with the budget? What does he
Speaker 1: do with medicaid? What does he do with the housing money?
Speaker 1: Because the federal government is entirely impactful on New York.
Speaker 1: So so I think it's up to him and what
Speaker 1: he does and will respond to that.
Speaker 3: What would a Cuomo administration in New York City and
Speaker 3: the mayors seat, How would that differ from the present
Speaker 3: state of affairs with the Adams administration or at least
Speaker 3: the perception that the Atoms administration has now with the
Speaker 3: White House. How would the Cuomo relationship with the White
Speaker 3: House be different in your estimation?
Speaker 1: Well, I think what happened with the Atoms administration is
Speaker 1: a very particular set of circumstances and facts. Right, you
Speaker 1: went to a clip of Mayor Adams. This is I've
Speaker 1: never seen this unique a situation where the mayor was
Speaker 1: facing a criminal situation that was federal and the President
Speaker 1: then worked with him on those federal charges. So I
Speaker 1: don't know that we ever see that again, but that
Speaker 1: is a truly unique situation that Mayor Adams and President
Speaker 1: Trump had.
Speaker 3: Do you believe he's severely compromised being the mayor right
Speaker 3: now because of his situation, which makes it obviously easier
Speaker 3: for you to compete against them for the upcoming election.
Speaker 1: Well, you would have to ask Mayor Adams that question.
Speaker 1: I know it's a complicated transaction that they entered into,
Speaker 1: But how the mayor feels about that, whether or not
Speaker 1: he's constrained by that, that's a question for Mayor Adams
Speaker 1: to answer.
Speaker 3: You've been known as a government when you were in
Speaker 3: the governor's seat. You've been known somebody you would ruffle
Speaker 3: feathers to get things done. You were stern, you didn't
Speaker 3: play any games. You were about your business. You wanted
Speaker 3: to get things done, and you didn't give a damn
Speaker 3: whether you made friends or enemies along the way. Do
Speaker 3: you believe you'd have to be more of that person
Speaker 3: to get things done.
Speaker 2: In New York or less.
Speaker 1: Well, I think it's a good question, and it's one
Speaker 1: I've thought about. We got a lot done, and as
Speaker 1: I said, Stephen, there is no easy way to get
Speaker 1: big things done. LaGuardia Airport, they opposed me more in
Speaker 1: the hand train station, there was opposition, second Alvenue subway,
Speaker 1: there was opposition right Bridge happens a bridge, there was opposition.
Speaker 1: By definition, you go to build anything, and there's going
Speaker 1: to be opposition. If you fainked from that opposition, or
Speaker 1: if you're a politician and you say, look, I don't
Speaker 1: want any opposition. I want everyone to like me because
Speaker 1: I want everyone to vote for me, which by the way,
Speaker 1: is a posture of most politicians. Then you get nothing done,
Speaker 1: and you've had generation if the generation if the generation
Speaker 1: of people getting nothing done. And that's why the people say,
Speaker 1: I don't believe any of these guys. They run for office,
Speaker 1: they promise everything, and then they do nothing. Look outside,
Speaker 1: what do you see that is new and different? So
Speaker 1: I purposely was very productive and I purposefully pushed through projects.
Speaker 1: And was it hard to get it done? Yes? Did
Speaker 1: I ruffle feathers, no doubt. Can you do these things
Speaker 1: without ruffling feathers. I do not believe you can. I
Speaker 1: do not believe you can. And I've been in federal government,
Speaker 1: city government, state govern I don't believe you can. Having
Speaker 1: said that, I think in retrospect, could I have been
Speaker 1: more patient? Yes? And did I become impatient with the
Speaker 1: bureaucracy and with the local politics and the obstacles. Yes,
Speaker 1: I did become impatient because I could see so clearly
Speaker 1: what we could get done, but for these bumps in
Speaker 1: the road, and I did become impatient. And as my
Speaker 1: grandmother used to say to me when I was young, bargenzia,
Speaker 1: bargenzia in Italian patience, patience. And I think I would
Speaker 1: bring more patients to the job. I would hope to
Speaker 1: be as productive, but with more patients productive.
Speaker 3: As a governor, had folks fantasy about you being the
Speaker 3: president of the United States of America, which obviously is
Speaker 3: a loftier position the mayor, even being the mayor of
Speaker 3: New York City. There are those out there, Yes, there
Speaker 3: are critics, but there are also those who fervently support
Speaker 3: you that may wonder is that seat too small for
Speaker 3: Andrew Como because of who he is and who he
Speaker 3: has been and who we aspired for him to be.
Speaker 2: What do you say to people that have that question
Speaker 2: about you.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna bring a big seat to the office seat.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna have a big seat. I'm not gonna have
Speaker 1: a small seat. I say, Look, I have one goal,
Speaker 1: which is trying and succeeding in making a difference for
Speaker 1: New York City today. And but the way as I,
Speaker 1: as I said in my announcement video that you played,
Speaker 1: this is not going to be easy, right, Hiring more police,
Speaker 1: getting the mentally ill off the streets, dealing with a
Speaker 1: migrant situation, cleaning up the subways, building affordable housing. None
Speaker 1: of this is easy. This is all hard. So that's
Speaker 1: the job at hand. That's the focus, right, run with
Speaker 1: blinders on. That's all I'm focused on. That's all I
Speaker 1: want to do. If I do that, I'm happy.
Speaker 3: What would be your number one priority as mayor of
Speaker 3: New York with all the issues that you highlight, is one?
Speaker 2: Is there one issue that stands out above the crowd?
Speaker 1: Public safety? Public safety? Public safety. If people don't feel safe,
Speaker 1: nothing works. Nothing works. If you don't feel safe. You
Speaker 1: don't go to the restaurant. If you don't feel safe,
Speaker 1: the tourist doesn't come to go to the place. If
Speaker 1: you don't feel safe, if you don't come into the office,
Speaker 1: you stay home and you do remote work. So you
Speaker 1: have to feel safe. That's why the old expression public
Speaker 1: safety's job went for government. It's true you have to
Speaker 1: feel safe, and that that is the foundation for everything else.
Speaker 2: What does that mean more police officers. What does that
Speaker 2: mean exactly.
Speaker 1: Part of it is more police officers, and part of
Speaker 1: it is a change in the philosophy that we understand.
Speaker 1: If you don't enforce rules, you have chaos. Right, nobody
Speaker 1: wants to see anybody go to jail. Nobody. And by
Speaker 1: the way, I closed more prisons than any governor in history.
Speaker 1: All right, so nobody wants to see anybody go to jail.
Speaker 1: But you go too far to the other extreme. You
Speaker 1: know that pendulum swings too far to the other extreme. Well,
Speaker 1: we don't want anyone to go to jail. Well, you
Speaker 1: have chaos, and that's what we have on the streets
Speaker 1: now in my opinion.
Speaker 3: What about the issue of immigration, I mean that in
Speaker 3: some people's eyes, that can tie into it, certainly in
Speaker 3: Trump's eyes, because that's one of the things he wanted
Speaker 3: Adams to address, which is why the DOJ presumably intervened
Speaker 3: with the case against Adams of crying out loud. How
Speaker 3: high on your priority list is the immigration issue in
Speaker 3: New York City?
Speaker 1: Well, fortunately it's going to be lower because the numbers
Speaker 1: are going to drop. You know, in my opinion, I'm
Speaker 1: a Democrat. The President, Biden and the administration mishandled the
Speaker 1: migrant problem. If you ask me what caused the election,
Speaker 1: I would say between inflation and the migrant problem. Probably
Speaker 1: the migrant problem too. Yes, there was no plan. They
Speaker 1: knew what was going to happen. When you open the border,
Speaker 1: you turn on the faucet. What's trying to catch the water?
Speaker 1: What happens? Well, I'm just going to turn on the
Speaker 1: force and see what happens. Now. So that problem spilled over,
Speaker 1: pardon upon to cities. The governors put people on buses.
Speaker 1: It was a tremendous burden on New York City. Twelve
Speaker 1: billion dollars if you believe anyone's numbers in this town,
Speaker 1: was spent on the migrants. But Trump has closed the border.
Speaker 1: That number is dropped. The number of migrants in the
Speaker 1: city is dropping. So I think that issue is of
Speaker 1: new migrants is going to be dropping. The deportation issue
Speaker 1: will be rising. But that's a different issue.
Speaker 3: Andrew Cuomo, if you win and you are elected the
Speaker 3: mayor of New York City.
Speaker 2: Is that the beginning for you?
Speaker 3: We could say it's a new beginning, But I guess
Speaker 3: what I'm asking is you stepped away. You talked about
Speaker 3: how comfortable you were while you were away. But now
Speaker 3: that you're getting back into the mix, can people expect
Speaker 3: you to stick around for a very very long time
Speaker 3: or is it just a priority to fix New York
Speaker 3: City and then go into the sunset and hang out
Speaker 3: with your brother and try to compare suits with one
Speaker 3: another something?
Speaker 2: What's the deal?
Speaker 1: First of all, my brother doesn't wear a suit, you know,
Speaker 1: he I don't know what he wears. He wears like
Speaker 1: those Hawaiian flower shirts. Uh. And I don't know why
Speaker 1: you don't mention it when you're on the show with it,
Speaker 1: because he's clearly and what is that with the rolling
Speaker 1: up the sleeves, you know, either buy a short sleeve
Speaker 1: shirt or leave this shirt alone.
Speaker 3: He's trying to throw his muscles and that he's ready
Speaker 3: to He's ready to throw down.
Speaker 2: That's what he's trying to do.
Speaker 1: That's what he's trying to say. Yet, but you're there,
Speaker 1: you have to say, give me a break when you
Speaker 1: roll down your sleeves, because you're starting to annoy me.
Speaker 2: So you're getting on him about rolling up the sleeves.
Speaker 1: You're getting on me.
Speaker 2: For not getting on him. Get on both of us.
Speaker 1: Even you have to push back on him. You have
Speaker 1: to push back on him. He keeps coming. He's a
Speaker 1: queen's boy. He's half a queen's boy. He's half a
Speaker 1: queen's half openy, you're so uh, Look, I take I've
Speaker 1: been through a lot, and I now take everything with
Speaker 1: two grains of salt. Right. I was a cabinet secretary,
Speaker 1: hut secretary in line for the presidential I was attorney general,
Speaker 1: I was governor, rumored to be running for president. My
Speaker 1: father was going to run for president. You know what,
Speaker 1: it's uh, it's all with two or three grains of salt.
Speaker 1: That doesn't mean anything. At the end of the day.
Speaker 1: The only thing that matters is what did you accomplish?
Speaker 1: Did you maximize your opportunity in public service? Did you
Speaker 1: actually give it your all? Did you make sure you
Speaker 1: made life better for people? And where you're successful after that,
Speaker 1: well you're good to your family, where you're good to
Speaker 1: your friends, and the day is over. So that's what
Speaker 1: I'm looking to do.
Speaker 2: Forgive me for sneaking in this one last question. But
Speaker 2: you talked about the Body and.
Speaker 3: The administration making a mistake with immigration and open borders.
Speaker 3: Was there anything else you think they did wrong that
Speaker 3: drastically affected the state of affairs that you're lamenting about
Speaker 3: the city of New York.
Speaker 1: Well, the migrant problem affected New York in a dramatic way,
Speaker 1: and I think hurt the Democratic Party all in course
Speaker 1: of the nation. Number two, I think the way they
Speaker 1: handled President Biden running for president. I think the way
Speaker 1: the Democratic Party said President Biden's fine, he's great. Everybody
Speaker 1: came out of that White House and said, combs up,
Speaker 1: I just met the president. He's great, he's doing well,
Speaker 1: he's stronger than his staff. And then the president shows
Speaker 1: up at the first debate, yah, And I think the
Speaker 1: American people say, you know, you deceived us. And then
Speaker 1: Vice President Harris has to come in late and is
Speaker 1: now running a truncated race and she has to tiptoe
Speaker 1: around President Biden and his policy. So I think inflation, migrants,
Speaker 1: the way people saw President Biden and felt they were
Speaker 1: deceived by the Democratic Party, that for the Democratic Party
Speaker 1: to be saying we think President Biden should be president
Speaker 1: for another four years, I think that hurt the Democrats.
Speaker 1: And then practically I think Vice President Harris having so
Speaker 1: little time hurt the Democrats.
Speaker 3: As the fifty six govern of the great State of
Speaker 3: New York. I think the one thing all of us
Speaker 3: can undoubtedly acknowledge we can't deny, is that if there's
Speaker 3: a problem, you know how to fix it. And now
Speaker 3: you're trying to be the mayor of New York City.
Speaker 3: Wishing you nothing but the best, sir.
Speaker 2: You know there's always a.
Speaker 3: Home here anytime you want to talk. I'm happy to
Speaker 3: have you on the show. Thank you so much for
Speaker 3: taking such time out of a busy schedule, and congratulations
Speaker 3: on campaigning for the mayor's position.
Speaker 2: For the state for the City of New York. Thank
Speaker 2: you so much, Sir Andrew Cuomo, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1: Steven pleasure