Former President Donald Trump has said that Andrew "Cuomo's got real problems" following the sexual harassment accusations levelled against the New York governor in a state-sanctioned probe.
Speaking at a fundraising event in Briarcliff on Thursday, Trump added that "Cuomo has found himself in an interesting situation" but did not elaborate on the matter.
Separately, the ex-US president asserted that Cuomo was "horrible on COVID", again accusing the New York governor of failing to properly use the hospital ship USS Comfort the Trump administration dispatched to New York during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks at a vaccination site on March 8, 2021, in New York. (
© AFP 2023 / SETH WENIG
The 45th president also signalled a readiness to support NY Senate Republican Minority Leader Robert Ortt, who would attend a Senate trial to remove Cuomo if the State Assembly impeaches him.
"It's going to be a hot couple of weeks in Albany [the New York State capital]. Senator Ortt is going to have a great time", Trump said.
Cuomo Campaign Removed From Dem Fundraising Site
The former POTUS spoke as the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue removed Cuomo's campaign committee from its site amid the sexual harassment scandal.
The pages for the New York governor's campaign and political action committee (PAC) were not active as of Thursday afternoon, with both showing an error message and telling users: "You have attempted to make a contribution to a fundraising page that has no active recipients".
"Either the page's owner has removed all committees or organisations from the page, or we have concluded processing contributions for these committees or organisations", the message reads.
Cuomo in Grip of Sexual Harassment Scandal
President Joe Biden, a fellow Democrat and longtime political ally of the New York governor, has led calls by a growing number of lawmakers and party officials that Cuomo must resign.
On Thursday, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said "the president made clear yesterday that Governor Cuomo should resign". According to her, "the president believes that Governor Cuomo should do the right thing - resign - and leave space for future leadership in New York".
Earlier this week, New York State Attorney General Letitia James accused Cuomo of sexually harassing at least 11 past and current female staffers and violating multiple state and federal laws.
"I am grateful to all the women who came forward to tell their stories in painstaking detail, enabling investigators to get to the truth. No man — no matter how powerful — can be allowed to harass women or violate our human rights laws, period", James said while announcing the results of the five-month investigation into the governor's alleged misconduct.
Cuomo rejects the allegations wrongdoing and inappropriate conduct, claiming that the investigation weaponised his "everyday interactions" and saying that he will not resign.