Disgraced former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who at one point was widely discussed as a potential Democratic presidential candidate, has criticized the far left for being soft on crime, arguing that progressives hurt the very people they claim to represent with their approach to criminals.
“Democrats: When you ignore crime, you hurt the people you represent,” Cuomo tweeted Thursday, along with a clip from Quake Media, the platform that hosts his “As a Matter of Fact” podcast.
The video, titled “Ignoring Crime: The Opposite of Progress“, was posted on Cuomo’s YouTube channel.
“The far left doesn’t want to talk about crime,” Cuomo said. “They don’t want to hear the word crime spoken.”
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“There is no crime problem,” the former governor added, using apparent sarcasm. “It’s Republican propaganda.”
Cuomo then said the crime affects low-income and minority communities the most — the same people, he argued, Democrats should represent.
“Do you know who the victims of the crime are?” He asked. “Over 70% black, brown and poor. So tell me, who really represents the Democratic Party if not the blacks, the browns and the poor? And when we refuse to address the issue of crime, the people who pay the price are the blacks, the browns and the poor. They are paying the price for your far-left politics.
Cuomo’s comments come as some retail stores across the country are closing, citing crime as the main reason.
This month, for example, a California beauty supply store closed its doors after being robbed or burgled a dozen times. In Portland, Oregon, a clothing store closed permanently last year after dealing with a series of burglaries that left the store financially drained, according to a notice posted in the front of the store.
Andrew Cuomo, then Governor of New York, speaks during a press conference at Yankee Stadium in New York City on July 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
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“Our city is in peril,” read a printed note posted on the Rains PDX store. “Small businesses (and big ones) cannot continue to do business, in the current state of our city. We have no protection or recourse against criminal behavior that goes unpunished. Don’t be fooled into thinking that insurance companies cover losses. We have suffered 15 burglaries…we have not received any financial reimbursement since the 3rd.”
Walmart has also closed several locations in Portland and Chicago, partly for financial reasons but also apparently because of crime. The closures came after Walmart CEO Doug McMillon last year warned of the devastating impact of rising crime on retail stores.
“Theft is a problem. That’s higher than it’s been historically,” McMillon told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in December. He added that if the crime wave isn’t stopped soon and prosecutors don’t press charges against the shoplifters, “prices will be higher and/or stores will close.”
In Philadelphia, the Wawa convenience store chain has permanently closed stores and shortened the hours of some suburban stores due to crime.
Republicans have been quite critical of progressive prosecutors in Democratic-run blue cities, arguing that they are soft on crime and contribute to high crime rates in big cities.
Police officers investigate a crime scene after a shooting at a backyard party on September 19, 2020 in Rochester, New York. (Rashaad McFadden/Getty Images)
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In a striking move last year, San Francisco voters ousted progressive district attorney Chesa Boudin in a recall vote focused on her soft-on-crime policy, which included prosecuting far fewer crimes. and offenses than its predecessors. Boudin had said he wanted to abolish cash bail and end “mass incarceration”.
In St. Louis, City Attorney Kimberly Gardner is currently facing widespread backlash for pursuing similar policies — including an effort by Missouri’s attorney general to remove her from office.
Washington, DC also recently made national headlines for trying unsuccessfully to implement a sweeping overhaul of its criminal code. Republicans and many Democrats have complained that the proposal would ease criminal penalties in a city that already suffers from a rising crime rate.
Cuomo saw his political star in the Democratic Party rise as the COVID-19 pandemic raged and lockdowns were in effect in 2020. The governor’s candid daily press briefings and forceful action to shut down New York him have earned national acclaim from many in his party, and President Biden has even called him the “gold standard” of governors. Members of the media pushed the prospect of Cuomo’s run for president. Some even called him the “acting president” during former President Trump’s tenure.
Behind the scenes, however, a series of events were unfolding that led Cuomo to resign from his office in disgrace.
Andrew Cuomo, former Democratic governor of New York (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
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In March 2020, Cuomo released a guideline for nursing homes to accept elderly patients with COVID-19. Thousands of people then died in New York nursing homes.
Cuomo’s administration has drastically underestimated the number of deaths from COVID-19 in nursing homes. In January 2021, New York Attorney General Letitia James released a damning report showing the extent of the damage.
Months later, James released another report finding Cuomo sexually harassed at least 11 women, including current and former employees. The report also revealed that Cuomo oversees a work culture “filled with fear and intimidation.”
Cuomo resigned in August 2021. On his first full day as former governor, his successor acknowledged that the state had suffered nearly 12,000 more COVID deaths than Cuomo has publicly acknowledged.
Last month, a former Cuomo aide who accused the ex-governor of sexual harassment in a federal lawsuit filed another lawsuit against New York, alleging the state government is responsible for Cuomo’s harassment and actions of other assistants who did not act. the matter once it has been reported.
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Cuomo is also currently facing another lawsuit for deaths in New York nursing homes during the pandemic, with the plaintiff alleging that Cuomo’s pride and “unabashed greed” led to unnecessary deaths.
The lawsuit was filed by Sean Newman in federal district court in Brooklyn. Newman is married to Janice Dean, who works for Fox News Channel as a senior meteorologist. Newman’s parents died in early 2020 in state nursing homes amid the COVID-19 outbreak.