CNN’s Cuomo has advice for ‘The Squad’: ‘Get things done’ besides boosting your ‘own profile’

CNN host Chris Cuomo called into question the effectiveness of New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the other members of their self-styled “Squad” during an interview Friday.

“I don’t know how that ’Squad’ thing actually happened. I don’t know why we’re calling a bunch of freshmen some kind of entity of influence in a system they just got into,” Mr. Cuomo told HBO host and comedian Bill Maher.

“They have a lot of social media influence, they have political cache, the media loves to talk about them. But I think you have to put points on the board if you’re going to earn your office. Get things done for your constituents, not just for your own profile,” Mr. Cuomo said during an appearance on the comic’s show, “Real Time with Bill Maher.”

The Squad’s members — Ms. Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan —have together and separately received a considerable amount of attention in the less than a year since being elected to Congress.

President Trump has regularly targeted The Squad since its members took office, frequently taking aim at their progressive policies and trying to depict them as the “new face” of the Democratic Party, at times using Twitter to help highlight intra-party conflicts between them and established party leaders such as Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernard Sanders has recently secured endorsements from several members of The Squad, meanwhile, with Ms. Ocasio-Cortez stumping for the Vermont independent during a massive campaign rally last weekend in her hometown of Queens. Ms. Tlaib is scheduled to hold a rally with Mr. Sanders this Sunday, while Ms. Omar recently announced plans to participate in a Sanders event scheduled for the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis next month.

Mr. Cuomo, 49, is the brother of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the son of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, both Democrats. He cut his teeth at Fox News prior to joining CNN in 2013, where he currently hosts “Cuomo Prime Time” live on weeknights.