Multiple women, some of them being current or former state employees, accused New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of sexual harassment or other inappropriate behavior. The accusations range from unwanted kissing to even soliciting a former aide to play “strip poker.”
Now political leaders, both Republican and Democratic, have called for Cuomo’s resignation from office. These include Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. President Joe Biden has also spoken on the subject, saying the New York governor should step down if the investigation proves these allegations.
Despite calls from numerous politicians, Cuomo remains confident in his decision to not step down from his position. While he has apologized if some of his remarks have offended anyone, he still denies that these allegations are true.
“I did not do what has been alleged,” said Cuomo. “Period. I never harassed anyone, I never assaulted anyone, I never abused anyone. I’m not going to resign. I was not elected by the politicians, I was elected by the people. People know the difference between playing politics, bowing to cancel culture, and the truth.”
Gov. Cuomo is now being investigated by outside lawyers, including former acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Joon H. Kim. On March 11, New York State lawmakers also opened an impeachment inquiry into both the sexual harassment claims and his administration’s handling of the virus-related deaths in nursing home patients. This inquiry could be the state’s first impeachment effort in more than a century.
While lawmakers are taking these accusations seriously, many critics question the severity of these accusations. Conservative commentator Matt Walsh even said, “He’s accused of flirting with a few women and that’s what takes him down. Incredible.”
While many would agree that these allegations are tragic and awful, they would also question how these allegations could affect the people of Ohio and other parts of the country. If this is a governor from New York, how could the outcome of this investigation affect other Democratic leaders with similar allegations?
Gov. Cuomo quickly rose to national fame due to his response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, almost nine out of 10 New Yorkers approved of the governor’s handling of the pandemic in March 2020. Many were even calling him a strong future presidential candidate. Not only do these allegations affect Cuomo’s chances of running for reelection in 2022 or a possible presidential run, but the Democratic Party’s handling of these allegations will demonstrate their commitment to the #MeToo movement, especially during the Post-Trump era.
Renewed attention was given to the #MeToo after at least 26 women accused former President Donald Trump of sexual misconduct. And later in 2019, his nominee to the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, was grilled about allegations of sexual assault during his high school and college years.
These allegations were constantly reminded to the public by Democrats. In fact, former Sen. Kamala Harris was praised for her “epic” grilling of Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing back in 2018. However, there is some question as to whether or not there is a double standard for how the Democratic party handles allegations of the same nature.
The most recent example of this double standard with Democrats is with President Biden. He has been accused of sexual harassment and assault by eight women, with the earliest allegation linking back to 1993. Yet he never fully took responsibility for what did or did not possibly occur, and Democrats such as Sen. Gillibrand even defended him publicly.
These next few months of investigation on Cuomo will test the party’s ideals as more allegations arise, such as Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax being accused of sexual assault by two women. If Democrats truly want to take a stand against sexual assault and harassment against women, then we all need to support Cuomo’s resignation from office.
There’s double standards with how both parties handle these types of allegations. However, these accusations against Gov. Cuomo needs to be taken seriously by all Americans because they are going to set a precedent of how the Democratic party handles these kinds of issues moving forward. Otherwise, we will have another four years of politicians getting away with violence and harassment against women.
Hannah Campbell is a freshman studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Do you agree? Tell Hannah by tweeting her at @hannahcmpbell.
