Nancy Pelosi refused on Sunday to call for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s resignation despite claiming she has a ‘zero tolerance’ rule with sexual assault and harassment accusations.
‘The governor should look inside his heart – he loves New York – to see if he can govern effectively,’ the House speaker told ABC’s ‘This Week’.
‘What I said at the time that these revelations came forward, I said what these women have said must be treated with respect,’ she continued. ‘They are credible and serious charges, and then I called for an investigation. I have confidence in the Attorney General of New York. Again, with all respect in the world for what these women have come forward and said.’
‘No tolerance,’ she insisted when ABC News host George Stephanopoulos asked if Cuomo can still be an effective leader. ‘And this is a subject very near and dear to my heart. This is – no tolerance for sexual harassment. I’ll let the world know that.’
‘But you’re not calling on him to resign right now?’ Stephanopoulos pushed.
‘I think we should see the results of the [investigation],’ she said of the attorney general probe into the allegations.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wouldn’t call on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign on Sunday, despite claiming she has ‘no tolerance’ for sexual harassment and assault
Pelosi comments come as New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says Cuomo will try to ‘hold out’ against calls to resign
On Friday, Cuomo refused to resign, claiming he won’t bow to ‘cancel culture’ despite a slew of Democrats demanding he step aside – including New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand
The California Democrat, however, did not join several of her colleagues in calling for the governor to resign after several women have come out detailing Cuomo’s inappropriate behavior or accused him of sexual harassment and assault.
Among those denouncing the New York governor is New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio – also a Democrat.
‘I think he’ll try to hold out,’ de Blasio predicted of Cuomo during an interview on CBS News’ ‘Face the Nation’ Sunday morning. ‘I think he is used to getting things his way, and it’s been almost an imperial governorship. But I got to tell you, the folks in this state and the political leadership don’t believe him anymore. He doesn’t have any credibility.’
De Blasio continued: ‘So I think an impeachment proceeding will begin, and I think he will be impeached and perhaps right before that he’ll decide to resign. That’s probably the most likely outcome right now.
‘But I’ve got to tell you something,’ he said. ‘He should resign right now because he’s holding up our effort to fight COVID. He’s literally in the way of us saving lives right now.’
The NYC mayor wouldn’t tell CBS host Margaret Brennan if he is considering a run for governor.
‘Are you going to run for governor in 2022?’ the ‘Face the Nation’ host asked de Blasio.
‘I’m focused right now on fighting COVID and reopening our schools and bringing this city back. That’s my focus,’ he deflected.
‘That’s not a no, sir,’ Brennan pointed out.
‘I’m not worried about the future right now,’ de Blasio insisted. ‘We’re in the middle of a war right here and we’re winning that war. Let me tell you, New York City is going to come back. It’s going to be a recovery for all of us, a recovery that really includes every neighborhood, people everywhere.’
He added: ‘The city is coming back strong, but I’m going to make sure that everyone is brought along in this recovery.’
Pelosi wouldn’t join in on the call for Cuomo to voluntarily leave office, but told ABC on Sunday morning: ‘I said there’s zero tolerance for sexual harassment.’
Lindsey Boylan, a former Cuomo aide, came out in December with allegations against him – she further detailed her experience in a February post to Medium
This led to a few dozen other accusers coming forward, including former aide Charlotte Bennett and Anna Ruch – who Cuomo was pictured holding her face at a wedding in 2019
‘The women deserve to hear the results of these investigations as does the governor,’ she said.
Calls increased from within the Democratic Party for the governor to resign after a few dozen women came forward Friday detailing an environment of bullying and harassment facilitated by Cuomo.
Lindsey Boylan, a former Cuomo staffer, was the first to come out with allegations in December. She further detailed her claims against the New York governor in a blog post to Medium in February.
Cuomo’s second accuser came former came forward last month, as well.
Also a former aide, Charlotte Bennett detailed that she left in November after being repeatedly sexually harassed by Cuomo, including having him ask her if she was monogamous in her relationships and if she ever had sex with older men.
These two allegers led to a flurry of other women coming forward with their stories.
On Friday, Cuomo refused to resign, claiming he won’t bow to ‘cancel culture.’
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling for Cuomo to step aside. On Sunday he said: ‘Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of his governing partners and of so many New Yorkers… I’m not going to speculate on the future, he should resign’
Several Democrats who once lauded him for his response to the coronavirus pandemic, however, are now calling on his to step aside.
New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand both said he should resign.
‘I salute the brave women who came forward with serious allegations of misconduct, of abuse and there are multiple serious, credible allegations of abuse,’ Schumer told MSNBC’s ‘The Sunday Show.’
‘Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of his governing partners and of so many New Yorkers,’ he continued.
But the Senate Majority Leader said: ‘I’m not going to speculate on the future, he should resign.’