Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday said he may host his 89-year-old mother, Matilda, for Thanksgiving — after spending the last two weeks lecturing New Yorkers about staying home for the holiday and telling their loved ones to do the same because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The story is, my mom is going to come up and two of my girls,” the governor said during an interview on WAMC radio, adding the caveat, “But the plans change. But that’s my plan.”
The revelation came just a week after the governor described having difficult discussions about the holiday with his mom, who wanted to spend it with him and her other children.
“I have a conversation with my mother about Thanksgiving, several conversations about Thanksgiving. [She said,] ‘We have to get together for Thanksgiving.’ Mom, we can’t get together for Thanksgiving,” he said.
Cuomo has been begging New Yorkers to spend the holiday alone, warning that COVID-19’s rapid spread has increased in part thanks to small, indoor gatherings in recent months as the weather has turned chillier.
“My personal advice is you don’t have family gatherings — even for Thanksgiving,” he said during a conference call with reporters Wednesday.
The next day, the governor urged: “This year, if you love someone, it is better and safer to stay away.”
Earlier Monday at his press briefing, Cuomo had warned that Thanksgiving this year was about “life and death,” before offering up a story about how his daughter Mariah, 25, cried to him over the phone about making the tough decision to stay put in Chicago.
“We go through all the logic and we decide she’s not going to come home for Thanksgiving and then she starts to cry and she said, ‘I feel so bad … I was looking forward to seeing you and I can’t get there,'” Cuomo recalled.
“Those of you who have children know when your child cries, it kills you. You feel pain worse than they feel pain,” he said.
The governor’s youngest, 22-year-old Michaela, then reminded him that “this is not a normal Thanksgiving. This is a special Thanksgiving … because it’s more powerful and it’s more meaningful and it’s not just about the commercialization and the toppings,” Cuomo said.
Both Michaela, 22, and Mariah’s twin, Cara, are expected to be home for the holiday.
Cuomo later posted on Twitter about how “hard” it was that Mariah won’t be joining the family, but that he couldn’t “think of a better gesture of love than to say, I’m making the tough choice to keep you & our family safe.”
The tweet didn’t include any mention of the tentative plans for his ma to come up to Albany from her Manhattan home.
The possibility drew swift backlash online, including from Republican New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, who tweeted, “This is one of the many reasons why Cuomo is the WORST Governor in America.”
“His arrogance and hypocrisy knows no bounds.”
Councilman Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island) told The Post, “The governor lives in an alternate reality.”
“Four family members, plus his police detail, cooks, caterers, cleaners, assistants and staff. If these outsiders can come to the governor’s mansion for Thanksgiving, as they do on a daily basis, in and out, then it’s quite another thing to tell New Yorkers their Aunt Tilly cannot,” the Republican said.
The lash-back seemed to have had an effect as Cuomo’s office issued a statement hours later saying he will actually now be working through Turkey Day.
“As the Governor said, he had been discussing seeing his mother with two of his daughters for a four person Thanksgiving in accordance with all state issued guidance, but as he also said the plans were still changing,” Cuomo senior advisor Rich Azzopardi said.
“Given the current circumstances with COVID, he will have to work through Thanksgiving and will not be seeing them. Don’t tell his mom — she doesn’t know yet.”