Gov. Andrew Cuomo canceled his Thanksgiving plans after he was met with harsh backlash for saying his 89-year-old mother would join him for the holiday after he spent weeks telling New Yorkers that Thanksgiving celebrations must be downsized.
“The story is, my mom is going to come up and two of my girls,” Cuomo had said on Monday during an interview.
He added, “But the plans change. But that’s my plan.”
The comments were met with immediate criticism, including from Rep. Elise Stefanik, who called Cuomo the “WORST Governor in America.”
“This is one of the many reasons why Cuomo is the WORST Governor in America. His arrogance and hypocrisy knows no bounds. Do as I say, not as I do. Rules for thee, but not for me. Family for me, but none for you. A despised, hypocritical, tyrannical, hubris-laden Governor,” Stefanik tweeted of the governor.
This is one of the many reasons why Cuomo is the WORST Governor in America.
His arrogance and hypocrisy knows no bounds.
Do as I say, not as I do.
Rules for thee, but not for me.
Family for me, but none for you.
A despised, hypocritical, tyrannical, hubris-laden Governor? https://t.co/WLvF5vdypx
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) November 23, 2020
Cuomo’s office confirmed that his Thanksgiving plans were canceled hours later, and he will work through the holiday.
“As the Governor said, ‘The story is my mom is going to come up, and two of my girls is the current plan, but the plans change. That’s my plan. I’m going to work — I’ve got a lot of work to do between now and Thanksgiving.’ And given the current circumstances with COVID, he will have to work through Thanksgiving and will not be seeing them,” senior adviser Rich Azzopardi said.
“Don’t tell his mom — she doesn’t know yet,” he added.
Cuomo has repeatedly warned that Thanksgiving will be different this year and restricted holiday celebrations to a 10-person limit.
However, a handful of sheriffs have pushed back against Cuomo’s 10-person limit, saying they won’t enforce the measures.
“I can’t see how devoting our resources to counting cars in citizens’ driveways or investigating how much turkey and dressing they’ve purchased is for the public good,” Saratoga County Sheriff Michael Zurlo said.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office also made headlines this month after posting a scathing rebuke of the limit on Saturday, saying that the order might not “sustain a Constitutional challenge in Court.”
“With regard to the Thanksgiving Executive Order, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office will NOT be enforcing it against our County residents,” said Fulton County Sheriff Richard Giardino in a Facebook post. “Frankly, I am not sure it could sustain a Constitutional challenge in Court for several reasons including your house is your castle. And as a Sheriff with a law degree I couldn’t in good faith attempt to defend it in Court, so I won’t.”
Giardino added, “We have limited resources and we have to set priorities, so obtaining a Search Warrant to enter your home to see how many Turkey or Tofu eaters are present is not a priority. We won’t be doing that. The only way to enter your residence is if we have a warrant, we are invited in or an exigent or emergency circumstance exist. We have three patrols a shift for 500 square miles, monitoring Family Dinners aren’t our priority.”
