(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) While in office, former president Donald Trump wanted to prank call then-CNN anchor Chris Cuomo while with his brother, then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Page Six reported.
The report comes from What’s Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power, Politics & Crisis, a memoir penned by Andrew Cuomo’s former top aide Melissa DeRosa.
According to DeRosa, Trump wanted to “punk” Chris with Andrew’s help during the midst of the COVID-19 lockdowns, when Gov. Cuomo went to the White House seeking aid from the federal government.
“What’s Chris’ number?” Trump, 77, allegedly requested of the elder Cuomo brother while picking up the phone in the Oval Office before a dinner.
Cuomo’s phone had reportedly been taken for security purposes upon his entry into the White House.
Seeing that the governor was confused, Trump then reportedly proceeded to say: “Your brother. What’s his number? It would be hilarious if we prank-called him right now.”
The elder Cuomo reportedly tried to pass it off, claiming that Chris “is busy right now.”
“Oh, come on, it would be so funny!” Trump allegedly continued, despite Andrew’s lack of interest.
Finally relenting, the former President concluded by saying, “OK, fine. But, it would have been fun.”
DeRosa, however, seemed to oppose fun in her memoir, calling the exchange “an out-of-body experience.”
Since that day, however, all three men have been ousted from the positions they held at the time.
Andrew Cuomo was forced to resign as New York’s governor in the midst of a sexual harassment scandal that coincided with a scandal surrounding the underreporting of deaths in nursing homes due to his COVID policies.
DeRosa played a central role in exposing the latter scandal, although she also tried to assist Cuomo in concealing the harassment allegations brought by nearly a dozen women. She resigned from her position after a report revealed she sought to retaliated against one accuser, former economic development adviser, Lindsey Boylan.
Chris Cuomo, allegedly attempted to advise Andrew on how to minimize the scandal. Although CNN seemed to have few qualms with the conflict of interests that he faced when his brother was the state’s top official, the stain from the scandal helped bring him down as well, while at the same time, Chris faced a sexual assault allegation of his own.
The combination of factors eventually led CNN to suspend—and later fire—their prime-time star after network president Jeffrey Zucker also became ensnared in the sex scandal.
Lastly, of course, Trump was ousted from the White House after he was defeated by President Joe Biden in a scandal- and fraud-ridden 2020 election cycle. As a result of his efforts to challenge the disputed outcome, he now faces 91 felony charges.
Headline USA’s Ben Sellers contributed to this report.
