MSNBC’s Chuck Todd suggests Andrew Cuomo can make political comeback after resignation

MSNBC’s Chuck Todd weighed in on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation Tuesday, saying the disgraced governor could make a political comeback after the dust settles on his alleged sexual misconduct. 

Speculating the Democrat’s resignation was a defensive move against his critics and an attempt to stay in good graces with his party, the Meet the Press host said stepping down could open the door to future political opportunities. 

“He eventually did something that, maybe over time, will at least give him an opening to maybe not be a full pariah, say in three years, four years, five years,” Todd said on MSNBC.

Cuomo, whose resignation is effective in two weeks, faces credible accusations of sexual misconduct from 11 different women, according to an investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James. 

The 63-year-old governor repeatedly denied accusations of harassment, saying, “The most serious allegations made against me had no credible factual basis in the report.” 

“This is a sad day for New York because independent investigators have concluded that Gov. Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women and, in doing so, broke the law,” James said. “I am grateful to all the women who came forward to tell their stories in painstaking detail, enabling investigators to get to the truth. No man, no matter how powerful, can be allowed to harass women or violate our human rights laws, period.” 

Todd noted Cuomo is a “career politician,” working on his father’s campaign when he was younger and eventually succeeding to the governorship himself. 

“This is all he’s known,” he said. “What would he do without the ability to run for office?” 

Todd concluded by saying Cuomo’s resignation was a tactical decision, and he fully expects the governor to run again in another capacity. 

“I expect, in my lifetime, Andrew Cuomo to run for office again. What that office is? I don’t know, but that’s what this resignation tells me today,” Todd said at the end of the segment. “He wants to live to fight another day.”

President Joe Biden, who called for Cuomo to resign and speculated he would be prosecuted, said the governor had done “a hell of a job” in office. However, the president was quick to clarify he was commenting on Cuomo’s performance as governor and not as a person. 

“Should he remain as governor is one question. And women should be believed when they make accusations that are able to, on the face of them, make sense, and they are investigated. And the judgment was made what they said was correct,” Biden said. “That’s one thing.” 

Cuomo will be replaced by Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who will become New York’s first female governor.

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