#CNN’s Chris Cuomo avoids brother’s scandal, ‘focused on COVID’

CNN host Chris Cuomo did not mention the growing scandal engulfing his brother Gov. Andrew Cuomo during his CNN show Thursday.

At the top of his program, the anchor briefly praised Olympian Simone Biles for winning a bronze medal in Tokyo before pivoting to the coronavirus.

“I’m Chris Cuomo, welcome to ‘Prime Time,’ ” he said. “We’re focused on COVID here, especially until we get the Delta variant under control and for now – as you know – it’s getting worse.”

Topics for the hour-long program included how Florida has become an epicenter of coronavirus cases as Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to push against mask mandates and businesses asking for proof of vaccinations.

Vermont’s commissioner of health discussed how the state became a leader in vaccinations, while Cuomo ended by splitting a screen with his friend Don Lemon and discussing suicides among Capitol police who were defending the building during the Jan. 6 siege.

Lemon, who hosts the show after Cuomo, went immediately into the governor’s scandal as the lead topic on his show “Don Lemon Tonight” as soon as Chris Cuomo was gone.

A scathing report released earlier in the day concluded that Gov. Cuomo had sexually harassed several women and lorded over a “toxic” workplace. It also mentioned Chris Cuomo’s role as an adviser to his brother who helped craft the response to the accusations against his brother when they surfaced earlier this year.

Chris Cuomo, who had previously admitted to the role, was allegedly one of several who were given “confidential and often privileged information,” according to the report. An email in the report includes a statement by the governor that Chris Cuomo appears to have edited or drafted.

In May, the host opened his TV show to address his role advising his brother after reports earlier in the day discussed his role.

In that program, he apologized to the network and his colleagues but said he never tried to influence CNN’s coverage of his brother.

“It will not happen again,” he added. “It was a mistake because I put my colleagues here, who I believe are the best in the business, in a bad spot,” he said. “I never intended for that, I would never intend for that and I’m sorry for that.”

The network said Chris Cuomo had been banned from covering his brother, although their one-on-one interviews were widely watched and sometimes criticized during the early days of the coronavirus shutdown last year.

“Now today there are stories out there about me offering my brother advice,” he said then.

“This is no revelation. I have said it publicly and I certainly have never hidden it. I can be objective on just about any topic but not about my family.”