President Trump agreed with an insult hurled at CNN anchor Chris Cuomo during a heated argument with someone who claimed to be a Trump supporter, saying that Cuomo was indeed the embodiment of The Godfather movie character Fredo.
“I thought Chris was Fredo also. The truth hurts. Totally lost it! Low ratings @CNN,” the president tweeted Tuesday morning.
The video shows Cuomo during an argument that allegedly occurred Sunday. The 49-year-old anchor is heard swearing prolifically and threatening the man who appears to have called him “Fredo,” a reference to the mafia movie The Godfather, where Fredo is depicted as the black sheep of the family. The term is sometimes used as a pejorative of the weaker brother of a family. Chris Cuomo is the younger brother of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. It can also be interpreted as an insult against Italian Americans, and the Cuomos are descended from Italian immigrants.
I thought Chris was Fredo also. The truth hurts. Totally lost it! Low ratings @CNN https://t.co/yBpGjt4N1T
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2019
In a rare disagreement with Trump, conservative Fox News anchor Sean Hannity came to Cuomo’s defense Monday night after the footage surfaced.
“I say good for @ChrisCuomo He’s out with his 9 year old daughter, and his wife, and this guy is being a jackass in front of his family. Imho Chris Cuomo has zero to apologize for. He deserves the apology,” Hannity said on Twitter after footage of the confrontation emerged on YouTube.
I say good for @ChrisCuomo
He’s out with his 9 year old daughter, and his wife, and this guy is being a jackass in front of his family.
Imho Chris Cuomo has zero to apologize for. He deserves the apology. https://t.co/VnyMNgz14U
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) August 13, 2019
Cuomo held little back in responding to the insult, which he compared to the version of the “N-word” for Italians.
“No, punk-ass bitches from the Right call me ‘Fredo.’ My name is Chris Cuomo. I’m an anchor on CNN,” the anchor said. “‘Fredo’ was from The Godfather. He was a weak brother and they use that as an Italian slur — are any of you Italian?”
“It’s a f–ing insult to your people. It’s an insult to your f—in’ people. It’s like the N-word for us,” He added.
At one point, Cuomo urged the man to throw a punch.
“I’ll f—ing ruin your shit,” Cuomo said. “I’ll f—in throw you down these stairs like a f—in’ punk.”
“Please do,” the man responded.
“So you can f—in’ sue?” Cuomo said. “Then take a swing at me … I’ll f—in’ wreck your shit.”
CNN Vice President of Communications Matt Dornic responded to the incident over Twitter Monday night.
“Chris Cuomo defended himself when he was verbally attacked with the use of an ethnic slur in an orchestrated setup. We completely support him,” Dornic said.
