CNN-Cuomo separation storyline unlikely to end soon: 'The Five'
The panel on 'The Five' offers analysis
Disgraced former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his television anchor brother Christopher Cuomo were outspoken critics of former President Trump, which likely helped their media stature – and the fact that the brothers aren't afraid to get confrontational likely means the younger Cuomo's firing won't be the end of their story, the panel on "The Five" said Monday.
Chris Cuomo was fired by CNN after months of criticism over his on-air and off-air interactions with his older brother. After messages released by the New York State's Democratic Attorney General, Tish James, showed Chris was more involved in managing his brother's scandals, CNN President Jeff Zucker announced the anchor's termination over the weekend.
Host Jesse Watters responded to CNN's in-house left-wing media critic Brian Stelter's "death by 1,000 cuts" characterization of Chris Cuomo's termination by remarking that "999 of those cuts; CNN never even acknowledged".
Host Dana Perino added that some media and theater critics were calling the now-infamous Cuomo-with-Cuomo segments on CNN's "Cuomo Prime Time" "fun and interesting" – and that the often jovial interviews helped CNN's viewership at the time.
CNN allowed Chris Cuomo to interview his brother multiple times during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic.
This led to the network appearing to "relax the rules" for Cuomo, Perino said, while noting that when they became an issue, they were halted in May.
"This story is not over," Perino later added. "Because if Chris Cuomo is going to try to go after Jeff Zucker, then CNN is going to have to figure out a way to deal with this -- obviously the brothers like to fight, so we are in for more entertainment."
Host Katie Pavlich added that Zucker and Chris Cuomo had a "beneficial relationship" – in that his politician brother was often on air as a "foil" to Trump -- and that any new tiff between the two is not likely to end quickly.
FILE - This photo from Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015, shows New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, left, and Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul during a cabinet meeting at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y. Cuomo faces possible impeachment following findings from an independent investigation overseen by state Attorney General Letitia James. If the governor resigns or is impeached, Hochul stands poised to become New York's first female governor in a state whose last three male governors have been marred by scandal. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File) (AP)
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Host Greg Gutfeld later suggested that it would be a nice change if CNN and Zucker took the opportunity to return to CNN's original stature as a straight news network, as it was at its inception by founder Ted Turner.
"Maybe decide that the Oppression Olympics is not the way to go," he said. "I know that’s not the profit model, the profit model is that ‘this group against this group’, but if you just finally realize that Americans could really return to just being Americans, that would be a good start."
Chris Cuomo also announced he would be ending his SiriusXM program on Monday.
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