Trump and Cuomo's 'feud' is essentially a performance, political insiders say


New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and President Trump have come to represent two sides of the coronavirus response coin. Cuomo has matched Trump's daily coronavirus task force press conferences with PowerPoints of his own, and they've both had no problem throwing shots at each others' way of handling the crisis, both on Twitter and on live TV.
But behind the scenes, the two Queens natives have a "perfectly cordial" relationship, a political veteran who has dealt with both men tells Vanity Fair. They'll get on the phone, have discussions that are "usually unremarkable in tone" — and then Trump will hop on Twitter and tell Cuomo to "stop complaining" and "get the job done," Vanity Fair describes in a profile of Cuomo.
Cuomo and Trump have known each other for around 30 years "in a high-profile New York guy kind of way," Vanity Fair describes. Their publicly polite relationship soured in 2016, but "one-on-one, it's perfectly cordial with Trump," the political veteran said. "Backstage, before the lights go on, he's a different guy."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Vanity Fair describes Trump's "potshots" at Cuomo as a simple way to "play to his red-state base." Cuomo, meanwhile, typically waits until Trump attacks first — and it's an implicitly understood, if not explicitly discussed, dichotomy. "Andrew is smart enough to say to Trump, 'Mr. President, I'm going to have to take shots at you.' And Trump will say, 'Well, I've got to do the same with you,'" a Cuomo associated told Vanity Fair. "This is a combination of realpolitik and street shit," the aide continued, and the fact that Cuomo keeps popping up Trump's preferred medium — TV — is certainly a part of it. Read more at Vanity Fair.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Do smartphone bans in schools work?
The Explainer Trials in UK, New Zealand, France and the US found prohibition may be only part of the solution
-
Doom: The Dark Ages – an 'exhilarating' prequel
The Week Recommends Legendary shooter adds new combat options from timed parries to melee attacks and a 'particularly satisfying' shield charge
-
7 US cities to explore on a microtrip
The Week Recommends Not enough vacation days? No problem.
-
Hamas frees US hostage in deal sidelining Israel
speed read Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier, was the final living US citizen held by the militant group
-
White Afrikaners land in US as Trump-declared refugees
speed read An exception was made to Trump's near-total ban on admitting refugees for the white South Africans
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideast
speed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members