President Joe Biden on Tuesday was confronted by a CNN reporter over his response to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) resignation.
How we got here: Biden raised eyebrows when he said on Tuesday that Cuomo has “done a hell of a job,” hours after the governor announced that he is stepping down.
“I respect the governor’s decision and I respect the decision he made,” Biden said at the White House of Cuomo’s decision to resign. “I think the impact is all on Andrew Cuomo and his decision to make that judgment. And I respect his decision.”
Biden’s exchange with the reporter: CNN reporter and former White House correspondent for the Daily Caller Kaitlan Collins asked Biden during a presser on Tuesday about his remark that Cuomo has done “a hell of a job.”
“Can I quickly follow up on your comment on Governor Cuomo?” Collins asked the president on Tuesday. “Can you really say he has done ‘a hell of a job’ if he’s accused of sexually harassing women on the job?”
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1425188982107869188“Look, you’re asking two different questions,” Biden told Collins. “Now, I asked the substantive – should he remain as governor is one question. And women should be believed when they make accusations that are on the face of them if they make sense, and investigate them, and if they’re investigated and the judgement was made that what they said was correct. That’s one thing.”
The president claimed that he made the comment about Cuomo doing a good job in terms of his work on infrastructure.
“The question is, did he do a good job on infrastructure? That was the question. He did,” Biden added. “Correct me if I’m wrong.”
“The question was how he did as a governor,” Collins insisted. “He was accused of sexually harassing.”
She then asked Biden if he could separately address Cuomo’s policies from his personal conduct.
“No, I’m not, I’m trying to answer a specific question. I was asked a specific question. What do you want to ask me specifically?” the president said.
What exactly was Biden asked about? According to CBS News, senior White House and political correspondent Ed O’Keefe asked Biden about Cuomo’s conduct as a governor.
“How would you assess his ten-and-a-half years as governor of the state?” O’Keefe asked.
“In terms of his personal behavior or what he’s done as a governor?” Biden asked.
“What he’s done as a governor,” O’Keefe said.
“I thought he’s done a hell of a job,” Biden told the correspondent. “I thought he’s done a hell of a job. And uh, I mean both on everything from access to voting to infrastructure to a whole range of things. That’s why it’s so sad.”
White House Press secretary Jen Psaki also claimed that Biden was answering a question about Cuomo’s work on infrastructure.
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