New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) angered now-President Biden’s campaign in 2020 over his speech at the Democratic National Convention, which aides considered to be self-aggrandizing.
According to the new book “Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency,” Cuomo did not deliver his recording of his speech until the day he was set to appear and used much of his remarks to tout his response to the coronavirus pandemic rather than praise Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee.
When Biden’s aides asked him to refilm the speech, Cuomo refused, according to the book authored by The Hill’s Amie Parnes and NBC News’s Jonathan Allen.
In his speech, Cuomo did not mention Biden until the final 10 seconds of his five-minute time slot.
“They put his speech on our doorstep, lit it on fire, rang the doorbell, and then ran away,” said one person involved in the content production.
Cuomo had a history of going his own way in convention speeches, going far over his allotted speaking time at the 2016 confab.
The anecdote revealed in “Lucky,” released Tuesday, comes as Cuomo faces a slew of scandals.
Cuomo was first hit with criticism last month when it was revealed that his office concealed data regarding the number of coronavirus deaths in New York nursing homes in an effort to avoid a federal investigation.
While responding to detractors over the controversy, he reportedly threatened at least one Democratic state lawmaker, feeding into his reputation as a political brawler who would lash out at critics in either party.
The governor was later hit with allegations from three different women that he sexually harassed them. Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing but apologized if past comments have made them feel uncomfortable. The New York state attorney general is currently overseeing an independent investigation into the claims.