New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday again said that he won’t resign from office, after more than a dozen New York Democratic U.S. representatives said he should step down.
“People know the difference between playing politics, bowing to cancel culture, and the truth. Let the review proceed. I’m not going to resign,” the New York Democrat said in a conference call on Friday, coming after Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), among others, said he should step down amid allegations that he sexually harassed women or acted in an inappropriate manner.
The statements by the lawmakers came a day after the New York state legislature announced it would review accusations made by six women against Cuomo. They cast an ominous shadow over the political future of the Democratic governor, who made headlines during the peak of his state’s CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus crisis. Before the allegations, Cuomo was accused of covering up the number of nursing home deaths in New York during the pandemic, which also prompted calls for his resignation.
At least six women have claimed that Cuomo acted in an inappropriate manner towards them or made suggestive comments. The governor again denied that he had an “inappropriate” relationship.
The three-term governor, who also served as the secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the Clinton administration, described himself as a political outsider.
The governor said that it’s “politicians who don’t know a single fact but yet form a conclusion and an opinion” who are calling on him to resign, describing such prospects as “reckless and dangerous.” He added: “Let the review proceed, I’m not going to resign, I was not elected by the politicians, I was elected by the people.”
“I am not part of the political club, and you know what? I am proud of it,” Cuomo said. “I have been in the public eye my entire life. My entire life I have been under public scrutiny, since I was 23 years old and ran my father’s campaign. New Yorkers know me. Wait for the facts.”
On Thursday, more than 55 Democratic New York legislators signed a letter calling for Cuomo’s resignation.
“Unfortunately what we’re seeing here is a pattern of cover up, a pattern of lies. It is unacceptable, the governor must resign,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat and longtime political rival, told reporters on Friday. “He can no longer do the job.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
