Speaking during an interview with HBO host Bill Maher on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” on Friday, June 21, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, explained that the “hush money” case against Trump in New York never would have been brought if Trump did not decide to run for president yet again in 2024.
That comment from former Gov. Cuomo came as both he and Maher agreed that Manhattan District Attorney Letitia James should never have brought the “hush money” case against the former president and leader of the political opposition because the case reeks of politicization and smacks of an attempt to take down Trump rather than blindly serve the interests of justice. “The attorney general’s case in New York frankly should have never been brought,” former Gov. Cuomo declared.
Speaking about the political nature of the trial, or at least the political optics of it, Gov. Cuomo said, “The trials in New York, New Yorkers said – 66% said the justice system is politicized. And there’s nobody in New York who likes Trump.” Continuing, he explained, “And still, 66% said the justice system is politicized. That’s why I think he’s not paying the same price for these verdicts because they believe it is political.”
The former governor then went on to add that there is a “real problem” with that perception, as it destroys faith in the justice system. He explained, “And you want to talk about a threat to democracy: when you have this country believing you’re playing politics with the justice system and you’re trying to put people in jail or convict them for political reasons, then we have a real problem.”
Maher then noted that the trial, politicized or not, has been an excellent campaign donation opportunity for former President Trump, as many people around the country wanted to pour money into his campaign after seeing the shocking conviction. Maher said that it the “greatest fundraising bonanza ever,” a comment that appears at least somewhat borne out by the evidence.
Cuomo also noted that the case against Trump only came because of his presidential aspirations, saying, “If his name was not Donald Trump and if he wasn’t running for president – I’m the former AG of New York – I’m telling you that case would’ve never been brought. And that’s what’s offensive to people.” He added, “And it should be because if there’s anything left, it’s belief in the justice system.”
Watch them here:
Former Gov. Cuomo also, during the interview, sounded off on New York’s immigration policy, particularly its acceptance of illegal immigrants. He said, speaking about the sanctuary city’s illegal immigration crisis, “The didn’t stop them. They could have stopped that. The governor was saying she didn’t want them outside of New York City, but the mayor could have said no. The governor could have said no.”
Maher agreed, saying, “I feel like this is another of those issues where the Democrats, trying to be so un racist are actually kind of racist because they don’t, they don’t seem to see Latinos as Americans.” He added, speaking about Latinos caring about border security, something Democrats ignore, “Like they care about border security too. They’re here.”
Watch that here:
Featured image credit: By Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York – SAS_1420, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54700756
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