WASHINGTON — President Trump told Chris Cuomo that “I actually appreciate your family” — after the younger brother of New York City mayoral front-runner Andrew Cuomo recalled how he placed a “comfort call” after the then-candidate narrowly survived an assassination attempt last year.
“I do remember your call. I appreciate your call, and I actually appreciate your family. I’ve known your family for a long time,” Trump told the NewsNation anchor Wednesday night in a live-broadcast phone interview.
Trump’s kind words come as congressional Republicans push the Justice Department to open a perjury investigation into ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo related to his alleged role in covering up COVID-19 deaths at Empire State nursing homes, which he had mandated take infected patients.
Chris Cuomo elicited the president’s comment after noting that he had called Trump after the Butler, Pa., assassination attempt last July.
“There was a lot of heat that came my way — as if I shouldn’t have been making a comfort call to Donald Trump,” he told the commander in chief, 78.
“Every president who is considered great was seen as a unifier. What do you need to do to be remembered as someone who could bring this country together?”
Trump replied that “I think I will be a great unifier” before offering the conciliatory comment about the Cuomo family.
The softening tone follows years of acrimony — including biting personal insults dating to Trump’s first term.
The president even previously used the nickname “Fredo” for Chris Cuomo — likening him to the dim-witted mafia family sibling from “The Godfather.”
When Trump in 2020 moved to yank federal funding for the Big Apple for allegedly allowing lawlessness during Black Lives Matter protests, Andrew Cuomo threatened: “He better have an army if he thinks he’s gonna walk down the street in New York.”
The then-governor said: “[Trump] was dismissed as a clown in New York City. Those who know him best, like him least. He was disrespected in New York City. Nobody took him seriously and he was just a tabloid cartoon.”
Trump gave the Cuomos as good as he got.
“Yesterday was a bad day for the Cuomo Brothers,” Trump tweeted in June 2020. “New York was lost to the looters, thugs, Radical Left, and all others forms of Lowlife & Scum. The Governor refuses to accept my offer of a dominating National Guard. NYC was ripped to pieces. Likewise, Fredo’s ratings are down 50%!”
Trump also tore into Andrew Cuomo’s self-congratulatory autobiography on pandemic leadership.
“Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York has the worst record on death and China Virus. 11,000 people alone died in Nursing Homes because of his incompetence!” the first-term Trump tweeted in September 2020.
In 2023, the president further denied a report that he had ever praised Andrew Cuomo.
“I never praised Former Governor Andrew Cuomo,” he fumed. “I thought he was a horrible Governor, and have made that point for years. He was the enemy, and I would rip his Fake (Sanctimonious?) News Conference’s apart. I did a lot to help New York, but he didn’t even use the Convention Center or Medical Ship. Crazy!”
Andrew Cuomo resigned in disgrace in 2021 amid a sexual harassment scandal, but he is mounting a thus-far strong political comeback against incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who has been weakened by a federal corruption case that Trump’s appointees recently dismissed.
A poll released this month by Siena College found that Cuomo leads a crowded field with 34% support among Democratic primary voters.
Adams this month dropped out of New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary and said he would be seeking re-election as an independent.
