“How do you get fired on your day off” is the quintessential question that sums up how disastrous a year 2021 was now-former CNN host Chris “Fredo” Cuomo.
For those unfamiliar with where Cuomo’s moniker comes from, he made headlines in the summer of 2019 when he threatened to physically assault a Trump supporter by throwing them down a flight of stairs because they dared to call him “Fredo.” It’s an insult comparing him to Alfredo Corleone, the dumb brother from The Godfather film series.
And aside from getting exposed as a walking liability for CNN for his breaches of journalistic ethics and sexual misconduct, Fredo spent a lot of time on his former show, Cuomo Prime Time demonstrating for us exactly why he’s widely considered to be the dumb brother in the Cuomo clan.
In chronological order, NewsBusters presents the 12 most Fredo moments from his final year at the so-called “most trusted name in news.”
Cuomo, Lemon Argue Our Riots Were Cooler Than Yours and ‘Justified’
Just days after the January 6 riot at the Capitol, Fredo and his buddy Don Lemon argued that the Antifa and Black Lives Matter riots they supported during the summer of 2020 were done for a better cause.
“They get that it's not apples to apples. What it is, is a reflection of the truth, of what is happening in this country. Which is, there are people who don't care, who don't like what was done, who don't believe that black people are justified, and it's why last week happened. And we can get angry too,” Fredo said.
Cuomo: America Has 'Never Once Stopped to Honor' COVID Victims
On an apparent crusade to paint all Americans as a heartless and uncaring lot, Fredo spouted off in late February about how Americans supposedly didn’t care about those killed by COVID-19.
“Do you know that we've never once stopped to honor the dead? We have never once come together as a nation to mourn,” he proclaimed. “Because we have never really wanted to own the reality, and that's what death is. It is the real.”
INSANE: Cuomo Claims GOP Waging 'Holy War' to Bring Back Jim Crow
Speaking of crusades. In mid-March, Fredo tried to keep attention off of his older brother, disgraced former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s own sexual misconduct scandal, and suggested Republicans were waging a “holy war” for Jim Crow policies.
“My argument is, this is becoming some kind of perverse holy war for you guys. Hopefully, once again, Democrats will find a way to fight off the obvious intentions of people like Senator [Ron] Johnson [R-WI],” he sneered.
Fredo Whines He Struggled to Get Vax for In-Laws, 'Tabloids' Reported Scandal
Just days after the Cuomo Covid scandal expanded to include how Andrew gave preferential testing and treatment to his family, including Fredo, the younger Cuomo had the audacity to whine about struggling to find vaccines for his in-laws.
“In a few months when Cristina was trying to get her parents an appointment for the vaccine, it was like NASA in my house. Everybody was on a laptop, everybody was looking for a canceled appointment. Everybody was scrubbing all these different sites and stuff,” he whined to Lemon.
Antifa-Crusader Chris Cuomo Rages at Anti-Riot Bills
In the wake of those riots Fredo argued were better than the January 6 riot, Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed anti-riot bills into law and drew the ire of the roid raging gorilla. Meanwhile, Fredo has an affinity for Antifa terrorists.
“The Florida governor signed a so-called anti-riot bill. That sounds good. The danger that he's calling out is so urgent he says the law has to go into effect immediately. The governor himself said, you know what the threat is? Black people, making their voices heard,” he exclaimed.
Fredo: Not I Nor Anyone Really Knows What or Where COVID Started
As scrutiny increased on the origin point of the pandemic and it became all but certain that the virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (which was conducting gain-of-function research funded by the National Institutes of Health), Fredo suggested the conclusion was racist and that no one knew where it came from.
“Where did COVID start? Do you know? I don't know. I do know that everybody is now saying it had to come out of this lab, which somehow is a suggestion they did it to us on purpose,” he asserted.
Chris Cuomo Takes ‘Long-Planned Vacation’ 3 Weeks After Last One
In early August, with the backlash raging after New York Attorney General Letitia James initially exposed how closely Fredo was working with his brother on the sexual misconduct defense, Fredo took a “long-planned vacation.” But this summer vacation was oddly timed since it occurred just three weeks after he got back from last summer vacation.
Cuomo, Lemon Fantasize About Beating Up Maskless Guy on the Subway
Fredo and Lemon like to portray themselves as people who want nothing but peace and love for all people and oppose physical conflict. And it all stands in such contrast when they let the figurative mask slip down under their nose, like when they fantasized about beating up a guy for not wearing a literal mask:
CUOMO [With a chuckle]: I can't believe in a New York City subway that that guy didn't get tuned up, by the way
LEMON: [Laughter]
CUOMO: I’m glad he didn't. I know that wouldn't have been the best of us. But I got to tell ya--
LEMON: Oh, he might have if I was on there. I’m not kidding.
Cuomo, Lemon Claim CNN Has ‘News Accountability’ Unlike Fox News
In yet another instance of Fredo and Lemon teaming up to make fools out of themselves, in late September, they took on Fox News and claimed CNN had higher standards of “news accountability.”
CUOMO: They say it's opinion. This is all opinion.
LEMON: But most people – most people – we would never even put it on, give it the light of day because number one –
CUOMO: That's because we have news accountability.
LEMON: --we know it’s not true, it’s innuendo – That's the –
CUOMO: That’s the Fox farce. The whole nighttime lineup is entertainment.
CNN’s Chris Cuomo FAWNS Over Paul Krugman: ‘I Need Him;’ He ‘Lifts Up My IQ’
One of Fredo’s routine shticks was to praise his guests as the “better minds” he relied on for information and insight. Even when they certainly didn’t deserve it. In October he heaped gooey praise on one of the most wrong economists in modern history: Paul Krugman.
“Few know the stakes better than economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman,” Fredo touted before their interview. Later adding: “I need him. Lifts up my IQ.”
Bill Maher Confronts Cuomo, SCHOOLS Him on CRT Applied in Classrooms
There are a few times a year that Fredo’s ignorance really shines. And they usually come out when he’s getting his butt handed to him in a debate. The week before Thanksgiving was one such time as comedian Bill Maher embarrassed him on how Critical Race Theory was applied in schools.
“You can explain it away as ignorance of what CRT is. Here's my problem with it, and I want to get your take. CRT means nothing to anybody. They don't know what the acronym stands for. It's really not taught anywhere,” Fredo projected.
CNN FIRES Chris Cuomo ‘Effective Immediately,’ Citing New ‘Information’
It all happened so fast. First, Fredo was suspended on a Tuesday (November 30), then on the following Saturday (December 4), he was gone. Like dust in the wind.
— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) December 4, 2021
