Chris Cuomo Addresses 'Fredo' Video

'I should be better than what I oppose,' CNN anchor says
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 13, 2019 3:58 PM CDT
Chris Cuomo Addresses 'Fredo' Video
In this May 16, 2018 file photo, Chris Cuomo attends the Turner Networks 2018 Upfront in New York.   (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Chris Cuomo is grateful to those who defended him after he lashed out at a heckler who called him "Fredo," but says it's not necessary. "Appreciate all the support but - truth is I should be better than the guys baiting me," the CNN anchor tweeted Tuesday. "This happens all the time these days. Often in front of my family. But there is a lesson: no need to add to the ugliness; I should be better than what I oppose." The Hill notes that after video of the incident went viral, President Trump's re-election campaign started selling "Fredo Unhinged" T-shirts online. Trump revealed on Twitter Tuesday that he agreed with the heckler, writing, "I thought Chris was Fredo also. The truth hurts."

Cuomo took heat for claiming "Fredo," the name of the "dumb brother" from the Godfather movies, was the Italian-American version of the n-word; many accused him of racism for the comparison. Oddly, as the New York Post points out, Cuomo once referred to himself as Fredo. It was during a 2010 radio interview, after host Curtis Sliwa asked him about his brother Andrew's plans to run for governor of New York and called their family "la Cuomo Nostra." "Who am I, then, Fredo?" Chris Cuomo joked. Trump retweeted a tweet linking to the Post article about the 2010 interview. The president later opined, "It always happens! When a Conservative does even a fraction of what Chris Cuomo did with his lunatic ranting, raving, & cursing, they get destroyed by the Fake News. But when a Liberal Democrat like Chris Cuomo does it, Republicans immediately come to his defense. We never learn!" (The Republican he's likely referring to: Sean Hannity.)

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