There may be a lot of love between CNN presenter Chris Cuomo and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, but there wasn’t much love with viewers.
“Cuomo Prime Time” was the latest on Wednesday at 9 p.m. with just over 2 million viewers tuning in to the latest interview between the high-profile siblings, according to Nielsen’s final data. Meanwhile, “Hannity” more than doubled in the ratings, coming in first in the time slot with 4.37 million viewers, and MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” coming in at a distant second with 3.22 million viewers.
“Hannity” also dominated the time interval among the key demographic of adults 25 to 54, reaching 691,000 viewers. CNN’s Cuomo topped MSNBC’s Maddow with 480,000 and 456,000 respectively.
Several Fox News shows across slots gained more viewers than CNN’s most watched show, including “The Five,” “Special Report with Bret Baier,” “The Story with Martha MacCallum,” “Tucker Carlson Tonight” and “The Ingraham Angle.”
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The host of “Cuomo Prime Time” spoke about his older brother on Wednesday, noting that the fraternal interviews “will never be seen as fair in people’s eyes,” but said CNN allows it because it is an unusual time.
Cuomo then spoke about how proud his father, former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, was of his in-laws.
“Everything he had said about public service was what he showed here and right now during the period when his state needed it most,” Cuomo told the governor. “I just hope you recognize even what I can recognize … I hope you can appreciate what you did in your state and what it means for the rest of the country now and what it will always mean for those who love and love you most.”
He continued: “I am impressed by what you did and, most importantly, I am impressed by how you did it … Obviously, I love you as a brother. Obviously, I will never be objective. Obviously, I think you are the best politician in the world. But I hope you feel good about what you did for your people because I know they appreciate it. Nothing is perfect, you will have your criticism, but I have never seen anything like that. You did it and that is why I am so happy to have had you in this show and I hope you know that. “
The governor thanked the presenter for the “sweet talk,” but not everyone approved.
“This is one of the most embarrassing and self-destructive things I’ve ever seen done in a media outlet. I doubt that even North Korean state television allows a presenter to “interview” his own brother and use his radio waves to declare him a Great and Noble Leader, “wrote journalist Glenn Greenwald.” Dynastic political power + StateTV. “
“This may be the most unethical newscast in modern history,” conservative commentator Stephen Miller reacted. “And everyone knows it. People like @jaketapper just turn the other cheek and play the part that Jeff Zucker wants them to play. Pretend they’re not part of this.”
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“This is pure propaganda. New York did worse than any other state in the country. It is not even particularly close. And a lot of it can be traced directly to Andrew Cuomo’s policies,” writer AG Hamilton tweeted.
“CNN is not a legitimate news organization. If you work there, this should embarrass you,” wrote Daily Caller journalist Chuck Ross.
Journalist Yashar Ali added: “This has been a problem for some time, but it is getting out of hand. The governor is not facing a critical line of questions. . . I don’t blame Chris, that’s his brother. But that’s why he shouldn’t have been allowed to go to his brother’s show after the first or second appearance. “
This marked Cuomo’s eleventh interview with his high-profile brother since the coronavirus pandemic began, and not once in the course of three months did he mention the growing controversy of nursing homes that had been chasing the New York governor. At least until this interview.
“Nursing homes. People died there, they didn’t have to, it was mismanaged and operators got immunity. What do they have to say about it?” asked the CNN presenter.
“Several statements that are not correct, but that’s fine. It’s your program, you say what you want to say,” Governor Cuomo reacted jokingly.
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The governor called nursing home deaths “the most tragic situation” and noted how there were nursing home deaths “across the country” and said “we have to figure out how to do better next time” before the next wave of virus occurs.
He claimed New York was “one of the best cases in the nation” for nursing home deaths, citing an apparent report by The New York Times that showed the state to be “35 out of 50” and its own study that ranked its state at “37”, adding that “comparatively” his status did well.
The Democratic leader acknowledged that “about 38 percent” of deaths in New York were seniors and said he was determined to find out “how to do a better job” if the virus returns.
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According to the state department of health, approximately 7,900 people have been confirmed or allegedly killed by COVID-19 in nursing homes in New York. That equates to approximately 25 percent of all deaths in the state occurring in nursing homes, according to the latest state total from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
The “Cuomo Prime Time” host faced a backlash last month for choosing to do a supporting comedy with huge Q-tips with his brother instead of tackling the nursing home controversy.
All information on TV ratings is courtesy of Nielsen’s final data.
Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.
