President Trump said Tuesday CNN’s Chris Cuomo would have tripped a red flag gun law after a video surfaced showing the TV host getting into a verbal altercation with an unknown person who repeatedly referred to him as “Fredo.”
The video, which started circulating on conservative-leaning websites Monday, depicted the primetime host going into a profanity-laced tirade, saying only “f—ass bitches from the right call me Fredo” and calling the word — which references a film character who betrays his family in “The Godfather” — is “like the n-word for us.”
“Would Chris Cuomo be given a Red Flag for his recent rant? Filthy language and a total loss of control. He shouldn’t be allowed to have any weapon. He’s nuts!” Mr. Trump tweeted.
The president is referring to a suggested federal gun law already enacted in several states and Washington, D.C., which would allow friends and family the ability to petition a court and have a person’s firearms taken away if they could possibly endanger themselves or others.
Mr. Trump told reporters that Mr. Cuomo was an “out of control animal” who “spews lies every night.”
“I would not have wanted to see a weapon in his hand,” the president said, before seemingly mocking Mr. Cuomo for not entering a physical altercation with the man, saying, “I guess his fist is not a weapon, or he would have done something, you know he talked about, it but he didn’t do anything.”
Mr. Trump mocked Mr. Cuomo’s tirade earlier, saying he thought “Chris was Fredo also” and adding, “The truth hurts. Totally lost it! Low ratings @CNN”
Mr. Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., also joined the conversation, tweeting, “Hey @ChrisCuomo, take it from me, “Fredo” isn’t the N word for Italians, it just means you’re the dumb brother,” likely referring to him as the lesser to his brother, Andrew Cuomo, who is governor of New York.
Mr. Cuomo is shown in the 107-second video using a form of the f-word 24 times and s– five times.
“I’ll f—ing ruin your s—t. I’ll f—ing throw you down these stairs like a f—ing punk,” he snarled, going on to invite the Fredo-user twice to “take a f—ing swing.”
Matt Dornic, CNN vice president and spokesman, stood by their host, saying, “Chris Cuomo defended himself when he was verbally attacked with the use of an ethnic slur in an orchestrated setup. We completely support him.”
• Victor Morton contributed to this report.
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
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