- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s coronavirus press conferences have gotten the attention of Democratic voters – many of whom are now considering him as a potential presidential candidate.
- Joe Biden is losing his status as a heavy betting favorite, while Gov. Cuomo climbs up the odds board.
- Cuomo now has the same betting odds to win the nomination as Bernie Sanders at +1000.
In recent weeks, I’ve noticed a new trend – one that seems to be picking up momentum in a hurry. Seemingly overnight, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has become one of the vocal online Democrats’ favorite politicians. Now, the calls for Cuomo to be the Democratic nominee are getting louder at a time when Joe Biden appears to have lost his momentum.
Much of the adoration comes from the Governor’s frequent press briefings, which many on the left have found to be more comforting and “presidential” than Donald Trump’s own.
President Cuomo is now giving his daily coronavirus press conference. I recommend everyone watch. It shows what true leadership looks like. Unlike the lie-filled, propaganda ridden, Groundhog Day disaster that is Trump’s botched response, in every way, to the pandemic.
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) March 26, 2020
With most of the population stuck inside and glued to coronavirus news, Cuomo is almost reaching “cult of personality” status.
For example, here’s an excerpt from a Jezebel article titled, “Help I Think I’m In Love with Andrew Cuomo?”:
“As I sit alone in my apartment on the couch one of my roommates left behind, wondering when I can escape, if I’m already sick, if anyone will ever hug me again, if my 74-year-old father will survive this, only one thing is certain. Andrew Cuomo, Dear Leader, will take care of me. He loves me. He is the only one who is here for me. He will help me get through this.”
Pretty weird, right?
Stranger still is the fact that the Governor is being touted as a great leader despite presiding over the worst coronavirus outbreak in the entire country. On Friday, March 27, the New York Post published an article claiming that COVID-19 is killing residents of New York City at a rate of one death every 17 minutes.
Donald Trump can sense the Democrats turning to Andrew Cuomo as well. On Friday’s briefing, he accused New York officials of ignoring a shipment of ventilators from the federal government, giving themselves an excuse to blame the rapidly escalating pandemic on the White House.
“We sent thousands of ventilators to New York, and they didn’t know about it at the time they were complaining,” Trump said. “They were going there in large numbers.”
To that, Cuomo responded: “That is incorrect and grossly uninformed.”
While Joe Biden attempts to shadow President Trump he better look over his shoulder at Governor Cuomo.
The same establishment that bent over backwards to change the rules for Bloomberg must be thinking Cuomo could be the ghost in the machine.
I said it first mark it down.
— Charles V Payne (@cvpayne) March 25, 2020
Asked about the stockpile of unused ventilators in New York, the Governor explained that the state is collecting them in preparation for the worst phase of the outbreak, expected to hit approximately 21 days from now:
“The hospitals don’t need them yet,” Cuomo told CNN. “The hospitals aren’t at their apex. The hospitals have enough ventilators today. But the numbers are going up. So the point is, ‘They’re in a stockpile, you must not need them’ is just ignorant. Of course, you don’t need them today. You need them when you hit the apex, which is 30,000. We’re not there yet.”
Whether or not Cuomo ultimately makes the transition from NY Governor to a late-entry presidential candidate will depend on how he manages his state’s crisis and public perceptions over the course of the next month or two.
What about Joe Biden?
| Candidate | To Win DNC Nomination |
| Joe Biden | -550 |
| Bernie Sanders | +1000 |
| Andrew Cuomo | +1000 |
| Hillary Clinton | +2000 |
| Michelle Obama | +5000 |
- Odds from Bovada as of 3/27
At the moment, Joe Biden is enjoying a comfortable delegate lead in the Democratic primaries; so, why are some Democrats looking for another option?
As today shld be the start of baseball, let me offer an analogy: let's take out a tired starter who's been wobbly through 4 and is gonna get shelled in the later innings. Let's go to the bullpen and bring in a real ace. Biden should step aside and let @NYGovCuomo be the nominee!
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) March 27, 2020
The coronavirus has been extremely damaging to Biden’s candidacy. First, it stopped his momentum just as he was running away with the nomination. States were forced to postpone their primaries for weeks or months. Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders has been using this time to put himself in front of the people while taking a vocal leadership role in Congress.
Most recently, he got enhanced unemployment benefits added to the Senate’s stimulus package. The bill itself is a terrible deal for the American working class, but he scored major PR points by fighting off a last-minute Republican attempt to remove those protections.
While all of this was going on, Joe Biden was absent from the public eye. He disappeared for an entire week, before re-emerging to give ill-advised public briefs from his home. Even in these pre-taped, carefully produced videos, it’s undeniable that the former VP is not the same guy.
The longer it takes for Bernie Sanders to exit the race, the higher the likelihood of Biden being exposed. His cognitive decline is becoming more difficult to hide — especially if Bernie is able to force another live debate.
Joe Biden just malfunctioned again.
This time live on @CNN w/@andersoncooper. pic.twitter.com/PS0Kcc6DEe— Geoff Campbell (MiamiGator) (@GeoffMiami) March 28, 2020
It doesn’t help that this week, a former staffer named Tara Reade came forward with a harrowing story about being sexually assaulted by then-Senator Joe Biden. Depending on how the scandal develops, the DNC might need a moderate opponent for Sanders sooner rather than later. If Joe is forced to suspend his campaign, it will be interesting to see if Cuomo is called into the race to split the pledged delegate haul with the Vermont Senator in the remaining primary states.
The Democratic establishment will not accept Bernie Sanders as their nominee under any conditions, so the whole ordeal has become a “perfect storm” of sorts for Andrew Cuomo. He’s on television daily in an executive role, he’s charismatic and likable, and his politics are more in-line with the corporate centrists who run the DNC.
It’s been obvious for over a month now that Joe Biden is meant to be a placeholder for the Democrats. He might win the nomination, but Obama’s Vice President almost certainly will not be running against Donald Trump in November.
As we approach the Democratic National Convention in July, pay close attention to the conversations taking place around Gov. Cuomo. If CNN, MSNBC, and other liberal media outlets continue heaping praise on the man – and assuming New York doesn’t descend into an all-out pandemic nightmare – it’s highly possible that Cuomo will be the nominee.
