Cuomo rewarded while Santorum axed at selectively outraged CNN

CNN anchor Chris Cuomo is probably sitting comfortably in a Manhattan high rise or in the Hamptons as you read this knowing that he is untouchable at his network despite multiple ethical breaches that would have sent almost anyone else at CNN packing up their desk. 

Now-former CNN pundit and former presidential candidate Rick Santorum is likely sitting not-so-comfortably after being let go by the same network because his comments – made off the air at a speaking engagement – about Native Americans were deemed racist. 

“We birthed a nation from nothing,” he said. “Yes, there were Native Americans, but there isn’t much Native American culture in American culture.”

“People say I’m trying to dismiss what happened to the Native Americans,” Santorum explained to Cuomo on his program recently. “Far from it. The way we treated Native Americans was horrific. It goes against every bone and everything I’ve ever fought for as a leader in the Congress.”

An opinion from a person paid to give his opinion which, in this case, he says was misconstrued. You can agree or disagree with it. But does it warrant termination? 

The answer to that question would be easy if CNN reprimanded or fired its primetime anchor in Cuomo for committing the following over the past year. 

1) March 2020: Received COVID-19 testing at a time when very few New Yorkers could get tested at the onset of a deadly pandemic that has killed more than 52,000 in the state alone. 

They were known as “specials” or “VIPs.” Last year, Gov. Cuomo arranged for his family (including CNN host & brother Chris Cuomo) to get home visits from NY health staffers who administered scarce covid-19 tests and rushed them to lab via state troopers. https://t.co/BY4HgawHx8

— Amy Brittain (@AmyJBrittain) March 24, 2021

Thanks to his brother, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.), Chris and other family members had “special access to state-administered coronavirus tests, dispatching a top state doctor and other state health officials to their homes, according to three people with direct knowledge of the effort,” according to a Washington Post report. Neither Chris nor Andrew has apologized, nor has the network made any statement of condemnation. In case you’re wondering, the “C” in CNN apparently stands for “Cuomo.”

2) March/April/May/June 2020: Chris Cuomo tests positive for COVID but continues to do his show from his Hamptons basement while in “quarantine.” Ratings rise as the anchor describes on a nightly basis what the experience is like, including fever, chills and hallucinations of his late father, Mario Cuomo. During this time and after, Chris interviews his governor brother in what could more accurately be described as the best PR any politician could receive as a mostly-fawning media eats it up. The governor’s approval rating skyrockets as the conversations go viral, leading to speculation that Andrew could replace Joe Biden at the top of the 2020 Democratic presidential ticket. 

CNN’s Chris Cuomo teases brother Andrew with giant test swabhttps://t.co/E10VGuN17S

— Natalie Allen (@AllenCNN) May 22, 2020

But was Chris really in quarantine this entire time? Rhetorical question given the police report filed against him by a 60-something year-old man who spotted him without a mask outside of a home under construction in the Hamptons. Cuomo was still shedding the virus at the time per his own CNN segments sharing his conditions. But he apparently decided it was a good idea to drive 30 minutes with his family to another home before getting into a verbal confrontation. Cuomo later inexplicably shared what happened on his radio show the following day. 

Hamptons bicyclist files police report after verbal confrontation with CNN’s Chris Cuomo: report https://t.co/0ACcZK2Y7h pic.twitter.com/r8Jc1lzOed

— The Hill (@thehill) April 16, 2020

“I don’t want some jackass, loser, fat-tire biker being able to pull over and get in my space and talk bullshit to me, I don’t want to hear it,” Cuomo said on Sirius XM in seemingly not understanding how he was implicating himself.  

Cuomo would later “emerge” from quarantine in what was easily the most cringeworthy cable news moment of 2020, telling viewers he had “dreamed of this moment” despite already breaking said quarantine via the biker confrontation. 

Here’s the very moment @ChrisCuomo emerged from his basement, where he’s been riding out coronavirus for the last several weeks. pic.twitter.com/tugkXCGZD7

— Cuomo Prime Time (@CuomoPrimeTime) April 21, 2020

And during all of this time, the anchor could not be bothered to ask his brother about a scandal that resulted in the deaths of nearly 15,000 nursing home residents in the state, a scandal that has spawned federal and state investigations. 

September 2020: The anchor not only provides questions in advance to former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, but also advises him on how to answer them. It’s all on audio obtained by Tucker Carlson Tonight.

Tucker Carlson Reveals 2018 Recording Of Chris Cuomo Reportedly Coaching Michael Cohen Before A CNN Appearance https://t.co/zWlGK3Kemq

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 10, 2020

March 2021: Once things went south for Andrew Cuomo due to not only the nursing home scandal but multiple allegations of sexual harassment by staffers as much as 35 years younger than the 63-year-old governor, Chris Cuomo announced on his program that – only now – he “obviously” couldn’t cover his brother’s scandals. 

“Obviously I can’t cover it because he is my brother” would have been a pretty good rule from the beginning https://t.co/VlYFTWgVmB

— Rich Lowry (@RichLowry) March 2, 2021

But principles aren’t principles if only applied when convenient.

May 2021: A Washington Post report finds the anchor advised his brother on how to handle the sexual harassment allegations against him, sparking backlash from the right and left. 

“This would be a fireable offense in many newsrooms.”

CNN anchor Chris Cuomo is facing criticism over a report that says he advised his brother Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, on how to respond to sexual harassment allegations against him. https://t.co/GbStfeXKyz

— Mediaite (@Mediaite) May 21, 2021

“The network said Cuomo will not be disciplined.”

He should get fired for this. It’s hardly an innocent mistake. He doesn’t think the ordinary rules apply to him. https://t.co/WxOX5SPXUj

— Dan Froomkin/PressWatchers.org (@froomkin) May 20, 2021

can’t stop thinking abt how Chris Cuomo gets paid millions & can blatantly violate journalistic ethics w/o consequence while thousands of honest, hardworking journalists just get laid off https://t.co/fOpQne8bbw

— Christopher Mathias (@letsgomathias) May 20, 2021

CNN put out a statement indicating that Cuomo would not be disciplined. Not even a slap on the wrist, a one-week suspension. Nothing. 

Add it all up, and Rick Santorum is out at the network. Meanwhile, Chris Cuomo will still rake in millions for the foreseeable future and was just awarded a podcast this month with fellow anchor Don Lemon. 

Chris Cuomo, Don Lemon Podcast: CNN to Launch ‘The Handoff’ on Apple – The Hollywood Reporter #thehandoff https://t.co/YSFgiEH8xk

— Don Lemon (@donlemon) May 11, 2021

See how it works? 

Joe Concha is a media and politics columnist for The Hill and a Fox News contributor.