#Gov. Andrew Cuomo threatened to brand rivals as ‘better than a child rapist’

Gov. Cuomo offered a stern warning to the Working Families Party in 2018 over its reluctance to endorse him after he swatted aside their preferred candidate, actress Cynthia Nixon, in the Democratic primary.

In a heated discussion, captured on leaked audio, Cuomo can be heard telling then-WFP boss Bill Lipton that he might start publicly comparing his leftist rivals to “child rapists” if they didn’t get on the team. The exchange was first released by the New York Times.

Reached by The Post, Lipton confirmed the authenticity of the audio recordings.

Cuomo had been annoyed by messaging from the party saying that he was “better than a Republican” — and he decided to up the ante.

“If you ever say, ‘Well he’s better than a Republican’ again then I’m going to say, ‘You’re better than a child rapist’ — how about that,” Cuomo said.

“You’re free to say whatever you want, governor, but I just want to be clear. Our line is going to be that we have differences with you, but our differences with Republicans are far greater,” an unflappable Tipton shot back.

“I think you’re better than a child rapist. I just want you to know,” Cuomo said again.

The Working Families Party ultimately threw in for Cuomo in his race against Republican Marc Molinaro.