Governor Cuomo promotes new book on 'Live with Kelly and Ryan'
Crown publishing released New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's "American Crisis" three weeks before Election Day
NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has gained a national following through his management of the coronavirus pandemic, appeared on "Live with Kelly and Ryan" on Tuesday morning to promote his new book.
The book that looks back on his experiences so far, and includes leadership advice and a close look at his relationship with the administration of President Donald Trump.
Crown publishing released Cuomo's "American Crisis," three weeks before Election Day.
The book is an unusual and risky case of reflecting on a crisis that is still ongoing, and expected to intensify throughout the fall.
RELATED: Coronavirus positivity drops in New York hot spots, Cuomo says
"In his own voice, Andrew Cuomo chronicles in 'American Crisis' the ingenuity and sacrifice required of so many to fight the pandemic," according to Crown, "sharing his personal reflections and the decision-making that shaped his policy, and offers his frank accounting and assessment of his interactions with the federal government and the White House, as well as other state and local political and health officials."
Over the past few months, Cuomo has been praised for his calm but forceful demeanor, while also being accused of waiting too long to close schools and other indoor facilities, and criticized for the high number of deaths at New York nursing homes. He had said in July he was thinking of a book, commenting during a radio interview on WAMC that he wanted to document the "entire experience, because if we don't learn from this then it will really compound the whole crisis that we've gone through."
"I don't know that I was calm and cool, I was exhausted more than anything," Governor Cuomo told Kelly Ripa. "I think the briefings gave them a sense of continuity and they knew what was going on one day at a time."
At one point, 64 million people were watching the briefings, Cuomo said.
"I was telling the truth and telling people how I felt and being honest about my emotions because I wanted, that connection was important for me, and people would understand the information and they would do the right thing," he said to Ryan Seacrest.
In an excerpt from "American Crisis" that Crown shared with The Associated Press, Cuomo emphasized the importance of confronting fear.
"The questions are what do you do with the fear and would you succumb to it," he wrote. "I would not allow the fear to control me. The fear kept my adrenaline high and that was a positive. But I would not let the fear be a negative, and I would not spread it. Fear is a virus also."
Financial terms for "American Crisis" were not disclosed. Cuomo was represented by Washington attorney Robert Barnett, whose other clients include former President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush. Cuomo is also the author of "All Things Possible: Setbacks and Success in Politics and Life," which came out in 2014.
Cuomo, currently serving his third term, became known to many for his blunt, straightforward press conferences, and for a time was even mentioned as a possible presidential candidate. His style has differed notably from the more erratic approach of President Trump, a Republican with whom he has clashed often. In his speech to the Democratic convention, Cuomo bemoaned the "dysfunctional and incompetent" federal response to the pandemic. Trump, meanwhile, has blamed Cuomo's "poor management" for New York's tens of thousands COVID-19 fatalities.
Cuomo has received some of his strongest criticism for the thousands of virus-related deaths at New York nursing homes. A recent AP investigation found that the state's death toll of nursing home patients, already among the highest in the nation, could be significantly more than reported. Unlike every other state with major outbreaks, only New York explicitly says that it counts just residents who died on nursing home property and not those who were transported to hospitals and died there.
So far, Cuomo's administration has declined to release the number. The governor has called criticism of nursing home deaths politically motivated.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report)
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