New York
The backlash to Cuomo saying he'd host his 89-year-old mother and two daughters was swift. Two hours later, his adviser told Insider the dinner is off.
- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will not be having Thanksgiving dinner with his 89-year-old mother and two of his three daughters, contrary to what he alluded to a radio interview on Monday.
- "The story is, my mom is going to come up and two of my girls. But the plans change," Cuomo told WAMC radio.
- However, later on Monday, a senior adviser for Cuomo told Insider the dinner will be off "given the current circumstances with COVID."
- "Don't tell his mom — she doesn't know yet," added Rich Azzopardi, a senior advisor to Cuomo, said in a statement.
- The internet was quick to drag Cuomo, given that he's been urging New Yorkers to stay home and limit travel this Thanksgiving due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will not be having his 89-year-old mother and two of his daughters over for Thanksgiving, according to a senior adviser.
On Monday afternoon, Cuomo indicated he would be having a small dinner when asked about his plans in an interview on a local radio station.
"The story is, my mom is going to come up and two of my girls, but the plans change," Cuomo told WAMC radio, the NPR affiliate in New York's Capital Region.
A few hours later, Rich Azzopardi, a senior adviser to the governor, told Insider the dinner is off.
"As the Governor said, 'The story is my mom is going to come up and two of my girls is the current plan, but the plans change. That's my plan. I'm going to work — I've got a lot of work to do between now and Thanksgiving,' and given the current circumstances with COVID, he will have to work through Thanksgiving and will not be seeing them," Azzopardi told Insider in a statement early Monday evening.
He added: "Don't tell his mom — she doesn't know yet."
The internet was quick to dunk on Cuomo, given how much he's been telling New Yorkers to stay home and forsake a normal Thanksgiving due to the coronavirus pandemic and cases surging nationally.
In the Empire State, people are required to limit gatherings to no more than 10 people. While Cuomo's gathering of four would not violate any rules, the age of his mother and the notion that he would still proceed with a holiday dinner angered people online.
During Cuomo's press briefings, for which he won an International Emmy award on Monday, the governor has addressed his own family's struggles with whom to invite for Thanksgiving.
Last week, he said he told his mother "we can't get together for Thanksgiving."
"Your family sounds safe, doesn't it?" Cuomo said. "No, you won't be safe. It's an illusion. My sister loves me. My sister could infect me — not maliciously, but accidentally."
During his Monday briefing, Cuomo said one of his daughters, Mariah, will not join the family for Thanksgiving because it would involve traveling from Chicago. The governor, who has been urging New Yorkers to limit their travel this Thanksgiving, recalled that his daughter cried during their phone call.
"When your child cries it kills you," he said. "You feel pain worse than they feel pain."
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