CNN’s Chris Cuomo made the news this week by having a confrontation with a gentlemen. It was recorded on video, posted, and seems to have everyone interested in it. It shows Chris Cuomo getting extremely upset and angry. Nominally Chris Cuomo is pitching hardballs, to anyone his news organization does not agree with and wants to take down. Yet one comes to him, and he fights back hard. The opposing person, used the term “Fredo” against him.
If a woman newscaster had acted in the same manner, would CNN have supported her as they have backed him? Or, is the Cuomo name too powerful in New York for even CNN to walk away from?
The video, entrapment?
Homer likes donuts, Cuomo likes talking harsh
The video that follows is the video that seemed to cause all of the ruckus. Chris, normally disparaging people left and right on his show is on the defensive here. Note the content may not be suitable for young children.
Ideally, his mother would have told him this. Smile, turn your head, and walk away. That’s what your big brother would do. Chris appears to be standing up for his ideals here in a mafioso like fashion.
Hopefully Chris wasn’t take any health or fitness medications to cause this level of rage. He walked right into this mess.
Cuomo been pitching hard, Trump finally returns one
The previous video shows Chris Cumo’s head spliced into the original Godfather Movie where the famous “Fredo” lines occur.
The following video shows a Jan/2010 interview between Chris Cuomo and Curtiz Sliwa of AM 970 in New York.
Chris Cuomo calls himself a “Fredo” in it. (New York Post Video)
Fredo - a non Italian slur
Chris Cuomo did try and use the Race Card, always in a CNN News Anchor’s holster, here a bit stating this was the equivalent of the “N” word. However the “N” word has a few hundred years of oppression behind it. And Fredo is just a term from a movie popular almost 50 years ago. Just because he might have some Italian ancestry, the race card might not be appropriate.
Some have said the term Fredo is insulting to Italians. Here on Chris Cuomo’s show on Jan 19, 2019, the term is used against Donald Trump Jr, a non-italian. Some would counter that just because the first use of the term is against Fredo Corleone, that italians can’t claim to be hurt by it soley. In modern progressive parlance, that’s “Cultural Appropriation“. The term could apply to any male who has a brother.
Jake Tapper, Cuomo’s colleague, has also used the term against Jarrod Kushner, Muammar Qaddafi’s son, and one his own personal pets, a dog.
CNN has a minor history of using the word. And you can find many videos of Chris Cuomo giving very harsh advice to the rest of us.
Living in the Shadow of your brother, the Governor
In closing, Chris Cuomo does have to live in the shadow of his father, and brother, both Governors. So even though he may feel inferior to them, it’s probably not wise to let the rest of the world think he is the “black sheep” in the family. And given this incident, whenever I see Chris Cuomo going forward, I will think of the Fredo character and, it will be hard NOT to think of Fredo Corelone famous lines of:
It ain’t the way I wanted it! I can handle things! I’m smart! Not like everybody says…like dumb…I’m smart and I want respect!
On Aug-17, 2019, TMZ reported that one of the original stars of the Godfather, “Gianni Russo”, stated, “Chris made an ass out of himself, and his family, by flipping out over the insult … not to mention suggesting it was an ethnic slur against Italians. That’s nonsense … all Fredo means is that someone’s weak, there’s nothing else to it.” And he added, “Chris’s dad, ex-Gov. Mario Cuomo, woulda smacked him over this.”