As news organizations have debated how to cover Donald Trump’s daily press briefings during the coronavirus pandemic, Andrew Cuomo’s have become a media focal point. His interactions with his CNN anchor brother, Chris, who recently tested positive for the virus, have only amplified the attention on the family, even as their prime-time-ready exchanges take on some grimmer tones. On Thursday, ABC 7 Eyewitness News reported: “New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gave an update on his brother Chris Cuomo's condition as he battles the coronavirus, and it came from Chris himself!”
The younger Cuomo, on the mend but still anchoring from home, video-called into his brother’s briefing, and the duo undertook a familiar round of fraternal banter. Chris, wearing a Cuomo Prime Time hat (someone’s future merch of choice, if it hasn’t already happened), said he’s struggling with his hair, according to ABC: “And you know, it’s not doing great with my hair, I have to be honest, it’s tough, hair the way I want it. You look like you’ve been cutting your own hair, which some people are good at, some people are not. So I’ve chosen to wear a hat because I don’t want to butcher my own haircut.”
And he recalled some hallucinations during the fever the virus brought: “It was like out of a movie. I’ll tell you, I had the hallucinations I was seeing pop [their father Mario Cuomo, who was also governor of New York]. You came to me in a dream. You had on a very interesting ballet outfit and you were dancing in the dream and you were waving a wand and saying, ‘I wish I could wave my wand and make this go away.’ And then you spun around and you danced away.”
“Well, that has a lot of metaphoric reality in that one. I thank you for sharing that with us. It was kind of you,” the governor said.
This was only the most recent example of the show the Cuomos have put on in recent weeks, which has already spiraled in all sorts of directions, whether out of the need for distractions, heroes, or points of clarification. Some appreciations of Andrew’s brash style have been written, as have some warnings about his overall politics, as have some investigations into whether he has nipple rings (his office has said no, as has his ex-girlfriend Sandra Lee). And if Andrew isn’t of interest, there are always Chris’s workout routines and newsboy caps on Instagram.
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