Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has re-emerged in the public eye and criticized several of the Democratic Party’s policies, fueling speculation that he might consider a political comeback after being forced out of office for mistreating female staffers.
Two years after resigning from office, Cuomo repositioned himself as a commentator who often criticizes his party and has been mentioned as a potential U.S. Senate candidate, yet questions remain whether New York voters would still support him again after many Democrats and Republicans attacked him for mistreating his staffers.
Cuomo is a commentator for the weekly podcast “As a Matter of Fact… with Andrew Cuomo,” which he established in 2022 while launching a political action committee (PAC) and the Gun Safe America Project.
He recently shared a video on Twitter from Quake Media of one of his podcast episodes, claiming Democrats have ignored rising crime.
“Democrats, when you ignore crime, you hurt the people you represent,” the tweet reads, which also was posted on YouTube titled, “Ignoring Crime: The opposite of progress.”
Cuomo argued that Democrats don’t want to discuss crime and don’t want to hear such a word spoken.
“There is no crime problem. It’s all Republican propaganda,” Cuomo sarcastically says in the video, while saying that “over 70% Black, brown and poor” individuals are the victims of crime and that they are “paying the price” for Democrats’ “far-left politics.”
Less than a week after the video, Cuomo wrote an opinion piece for the New York Daily News, noting various reasons why Americans are moving from Democratic states to Republican states. He cited climate, real estate prices, public school quality, public safety, and the economy as leading factors concerning why Americans are relocating.
In today’s @NYDNOpinions ‘Americans rank the availability of affordable housing as a primary concern in locational decisions … Commercial vacancies can be converted to affordable housing if local governments are creative and expedite zoning and building code changes.’ pic.twitter.com/foUaEuvFpc
— Andrew Cuomo (@andrewcuomo) April 19, 2023
Cuomo criticized the “current political forces” push to defund law enforcement and “tax the rich.” He mentioned cities such as Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, which “experience a high rate of widely publicized violent crimes, and together with increased homelessness and general decay, cities appear ‘out of control.’”
Political strategist Hank Sheinkopf said Cuomo has a clear strategy as he takes a moderate tone in addressing some political issues.
“It’s not stupid, it’s smart,” Sheinkopf told Fox News Digital. “Look, New Yorkers and the rest of the country – everybody, no matter where they live – whether they be Democrat or Republican or even liberals, they just don’t like guns pointed in their faces, and they don’t like the feeling that that could happen at any time, so Andrew Cuomo’s touching on something.”
Sheinkopf also claimed that “when things appear to be out of control, the Republicans tend to do better” and that “the center is where [Cuomo] wants to be.” He pointed out that Cuomo knows Democrats must control the “out-of-control” crime in New York and that “he may be the only person around” who can do something about it.
Jennifer Holdsworth, who is a Democratic strategist, claimed that it might be too soon after Cuomo’s scandals for him to try a political comeback.
“I think he has some sins that he needs to atone for, but there’s been plenty of comeback stories in New York and nationwide. He’s a very talented politician, and he still has many relationships, so while I don’t quite think the voters are ready to welcome him with open arms just yet, I would say we’ll see what the future holds,” she told Fox News Digital in an interview.
