MSNBC’s Chuck Todd said Tuesday that he expected outgoing Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to run for office again in his lifetime.
Todd argued that Cuomo’s decision to resign — in the wake of an independent investigation that determined he had sexually harassed multiple women and violated state and federal laws — was a strategic move to keep the door open for him to seek public office again in the future. (RELATED: ‘How Can You Say The Border Is Closed?’: MSNBC’s Chuck Todd Presses Biden DHS Secretary On Migrant Crisis)
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“Andrew Cuomo could have been a presidential candidate down the road,” host Andrea Mitchell began, noting that with the whole New York State Assembly standing against him, Cuomo had been left with little choice.
Todd agreed but then pivoted to note that Cuomo may have left the door open for a potential comeback in the future.
“The resignation gives him, we know the way our world works. It’s amazing. The people we’ve seen make political comebacks. You know, you can’t ever rule it out, and I think he realized he could become a pariah in the Democratic Party for sticking it out and fighting, or he can — not saying he’s gonna generate goodwill, but I promise you there’s a whole bunch of state assembly members that are relieved today. There’s whole bunch of assembly Democrats that didn’t want to go through this process, didn’t want to have to go through this,” Todd added.
“There are a lot of congressional Democrats that are glad he did this,” Todd continued, arguing that four or five years down the road Cuomo might see an opening to jump back into the game. (RELATED: ANALYSIS: ‘Cuomosexual’ Has Redefined Terms Not Aging Well)
“Think about what Andrew Cuomo’s done his whole life. He’s been basically a professional politician his whole life, either working on campaigns for his father, working in the administration or Clinton administration and running for office himself. This is all he’s known. What would he do without the ability to run for office?” he asked. “So, look, I expect in my lifetime, Andrew Cuomo to probably run for office again. What that office is? I don’t know, but that’s what this resignation tells me today. He wants to live to fight another day.”
“He was pivoting already today, this is a man’s world, I’m doing this for my three daughters and I want them to fly high and of course reminding people of the legacy that — he’s hoping to remind them of during the winter months during the pandemic,” Mitchell replied before wrapping the segment.
Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean, who has called for continued investigations into Cuomo for his handling of New York nursing home policy during the coronavirus pandemic, was not impressed by Todd’s suggestion.
Hi @chucktodd. Heard you were talking about @NYGovCuomo making a comeback. I have a few things to say to you, but none of them are ladylike and would get me banned from twitter so please go take a hike.
— Janice Dean (@JaniceDean) August 10, 2021
“Hi @chucktodd. Heard you were talking about @NYGovCuomo making a comeback. I have a few things to say to you, but none of them are ladylike and would get me banned from twitter so please go take a hike,” she tweeted.