Bill Maher doubts Cuomo can overcome nursing home scandal to become NYC mayor

Bill Maher doubted former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo could overcome his handling of nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic when discussing his mayoral aspirations.

The “Real Time” host spoke to Cuomo’s brother, ex-CNN host Chris Cuomo, about the former governor’s bid for New York City mayor on Maher’s “Club Random” podcast on Sunday. Although Cuomo is leading in the polls against other Democratic candidates and current NYC Mayor Eric Adams, who left the party to run as an independent, Maher suggested his past COVID-19 directives could come back to haunt him.

“I don’t think he’s going to get past the nursing home thing,” Maher said before suggesting that Cuomo has to own the issue.

He added, “Politics is a highwire act. One boner decision can make people go, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t trust that guy’s judgment.’ Or they don’t. I don’t know what the f— will happen.”

By contrast, Chris Cuomo remarked that he believed the scandal wouldn’t determine the race but that there would be pressure coming from Democrats.

“I think he’s got a lot pressure against him within that party,” Chris Cuomo said. “And they’re going to have to make a decision whether they want to be in power or they want to police their own set of beliefs within their party. I mean, that’s what they have to decide. What are they about as a party?”

Andrew Cuomo came under fire over a controversial directive issued in March 2020 that initially barred nursing homes from refusing to accept patients who had tested positive for COVID-19. The directive aimed to free up beds in case hospitals got overwhelmed but was later rescinded amid speculation that it had accelerated outbreaks and deaths among the state’s most vulnerable population. 

A report released in March 2022 by the New York state comptroller later found that Cuomo’s Health Department “was not transparent in its reporting of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes” and it “understated the number of deaths at nursing homes by as much as 50%” during some points of the pandemic.

Cuomo ultimately resigned from office in August 2021 following sexual harassment allegations, which he denies.

In response to Cuomo’s mayoral bid, Adams told reporters that the former governor should “answer” for his role in the nursing home deaths.

“I’ve met with some of the nursing home family members and advocates. There’s some things that we want to do with them. But he has to answer that question on the trail,” Adams responded. “Should that be an automatic disqualification? No, I think it needs to be answered on the trail, exactly what happened. And I think some of those family members are going to be looking forward to that.”

In a comment to Fox News Digital, Cuomo’s campaign argued his original directive was consistent with federal guidance and accused opponents of playing “political games” with the issue.

“More than 1 million Americans died as a result of the COVID pandemic, and our hearts break for the families of every person who lost a loved one –but unfortunately, as the DOJ IG confirmed, that pain has been weaponized and politicized for purely electoral purposes for years. Being Mayor of the greatest City in the world is a tremendous undertaking that requires experience, a proven record of accomplishment and management capacity – traits none of these other extreme MAGA nor fringe DSA mayoral candidates have,” the statement read.