Meghan McCain blasts Chris Cuomo for ‘the worst kind of nepotism’ over Andrew Cuomo coverage
“The View” co-host Meghan McCain on Wednesday slammed Chris Cuomo as an example of “the worst kind of nepotism” after the CNN host failed to cover the sexual harassment scandal engulfing his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The daughter of late Arizona Sen. John McCain was referencing a debate about nepotism she had on “The View” last week when she commented on the scathing official report into the allegations against the governor during Wednesday morning’s show.
“You want to talk about nepotism?,” McCain said, “Not having to talk about the biggest scandal in the country when it has to do with your brother and you’re hosting CNN, that’s nepotism.”
“The Cuomo family and CNN are the worst kind of nepotism that the media has an example of,” she railed.
McCain blasted Chris Cuomo and network as “cowards,” saying that if her brother was governor and accused of sexual harassment, “you are damn straight I’d be talking about it on ‘The View’ this morning.”
Her comments came after the “Cuomo Prime Time” host ignored his older brother’s growing scandal on his show Tuesday night, focusing instead on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Don Lemon, who hosts the program airing directly after Chris Cuomo’s show, immediately went into coverage of growing calls for Andrew Cuomo’s resignation, following an awkward handoff.
McCain, who is set to leave “The View” at the end of the week, also called on the governor to either resign or be forced out of office — and said Chris should face “retribution” too, for the apparent double-standard in how he covers his sibling.
She pointed out that Andrew made regular appearances on his brother’s 9 p.m. show at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, engaging in often-cringey banter that initially helped boost the ratings for the cable program The two would joke around during the segments, including about the governor’s relationship status.
“So when he’s fine, its OK to air it,” she said, asking, “that’s journalism?”
“It’s all disgusting,” McCain said.
Last week, during a segment about nepotism in Hollywood on the ABC show, McCain had whined that, “Every single door I’ve ever walked in my entire life, people automatically assume you’re going to be a lazy, spoiled brat that won’t contribute anything because you have famous parents.”
“I no longer care. I think my work and my work ethic speaks for itself,” she had said.
Some viewers on Wednesday saw McCain’s comments about the Cuomos as hypocritical — noting that she’s the child of a prominent politician who snagged a lucrative TV gig, just like Chris, whose late father was former New York Governor Mario Cuomo.
“@MeghanMcCain going off on the evils of nepotism on the last week of #TheView. Is this a subconscious self-own??,” one person wrote on Twitter.
“Meghan McCain was projecting with that nepotism comment,” another user wrote. “You know we look at YOU as the poster child for nepotism. Hush!”
The scathing report, released by state Attorney General Letitia James’ office, named Chris as one of several outside advisors who were provided confidential and privileged information by the Executive Chamber as the governor tried to respond to a slew of sexual harassment allegations earlier this year.
Independent investigators found that Chris sent an email to the other advisors with a proposed statement he appeared to have drafted or edited on his brother’s behalf in response to sexual harassment allegations from ex-aide Charlotte Bennett.
It was revealed in May that Chris had advised the governor on how to deal with the accusations, landing both Cuomo brothers in hot water and prompting CNN to issue an apology.
The TV-journalist also admitted that advising his brother was a mistake and apologized for putting his colleagues “in a bad spot.”
He’s previously told viewers that he “obviously” would not be covering the sexual harassment allegations against his brother because it is a conflict of interest — one that some have noted didn’t seemed to exist when things were going well for the governor.
CNN in February reinstated a ban on Chris covering his sibling after an exclusive Post report found his administration covered up thousands of nursing home COVID-19 deaths.
The network didn’t immediately return a request for comment Wednesday.
