BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - Governor Andrew Cuomo pushed back on a question about the criticisms of his book benefiting him on the backs of thousands of New Yorkers who have died from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"That's stupid," Cuomo said. "I thought your question was stupid and offensive. I wrote a book saying this is what we should learn from what is happening so far in COVID because we're not done and it's going to continue. If we don't learn the lessons, we're going to continue to make the same mistakes. That's why I wrote the book and, by the way, that's what happened."
Cuomo's book, "American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic" made more than $5 million. However, the book has been blasted by opponents of the governor's because more than 42,000 people have died in New York, including thousands from nursing homes. The nursing home crisis has been one of the most often cited criticisms of the governor because of his March 25 executive order which effectively ordered nursing homes in the state to accept COVID-positive residents who were in the hospital with the disease.
The governor has previously maintained that nursing home staff, and not the COVID-positive residents, were most attributed to the spread of the virus.
Republicans in the state are calling on the governor to release the contract from his book deal so the public can view the wording of his deal.
"He decided it was in good taste to write a book and enrich himself by $5 million to do so," New York Republican Chairman Nick Langworthy said in a news conference Thursday. "This is a gross abuse of public trust and doesn't pass any smell test. It didn't when he signed the contract. At first, we thought it was delusions of grandeur and maybe some clandestine way to start a campaign for the presidency. Instead, what we find is that it's just a sick cash grab. A disgusting cash grab."
NYS GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy is criticizing Governor Cuomo for his $5 million book deal and wants the contract released so we can all see the wording.
Posted by WBEN NewsRadio on Thursday, May 20, 2021
Cuomo defended himself from Langworthy's criticisms, saying he has always released his tax returns for decades.
"The book is $3 million," Cuomo said. "This payment of the $3 million, after taxes, I gave one-third to charity and put the remainder in a trust for my kids because my kids, for me, are what got me through COVID."
The governor will earn another $2 million over the next two years on the book.
