New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says his political role was the only thing saving President Trump from a fit of violence over a “Godfather” joke about brother Chris Cuomo.
The Democrat told Howard Stern this week that Mr. Trump would have been “decked” under different professional circumstances for humor likening his Italian sibling to the fictional, violence-prone “Corleone” family.
Chris Cuomo, the host of CNN’s “Cuomo Prime Time,” made national headlines in 2019 after responding to a critic’s public “Fredo” insult by saying, “I’ll f— ruin your s—. I’ll f—g throw you down these stairs like a f—g punk.”
“Hey @ChrisCuomo, take it from me,” responded Donald Trump Jr. on Twitter in August 2019, “’Fredo’ isn’t the N-word for Italians, it just means you’re the dumb brother.”
The president agreed and many of his supporters have called the younger Cuomo “Fredo” ever since.
“I want to speak to the better angels. I want to lift people up and I want to show Trump for what he is by opposition,” the New York governor said Monday. “I also had the practical situation: I needed him to help New York. That was my job. If I wasn’t governor of New York, I would’ve decked him. Period. He was attacking me. He was attacking my family. He was anti-Italian. He was every nasty thing.”
Mr. Cuomo told the radio host that he is “very sensitive to all ethnic slights” and finds the “mafia stereotype” particularly offensive.
“The mafia stereotype has been such a stain for Italians for so long — and that’s where they go when they want to get cheap and nasty,” he said.
I thought Chris was Fredo also. The truth hurts. Totally lost it! Low ratings @CNN https://t.co/yBpGjt4N1T
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2019
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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