New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Debuts New 'Turkey' Mask at Presser, the Media's Reaction Says It All

It’s been an up and down week so far for NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

His week started on a good note – for him – by way of receiving the “Founders Award” during the International Emmy Awards ceremony “in recognition of his leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic and his masterful use of television to inform and calm people around the world.” The award was one of many accolades that have been bestowed upon Cuomo by his swooning fans over the last few months despite his disastrous handling of the pandemic crisis.

He also got hit with some serious backlash on Monday, the first of which came from Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean, who leveled the Democratic governor after he tried a little pre-Thanksgiving COVID shaming. Dean also blasted his acceptance of the Emmy, noting the first words out of his mouth should have been something along the lines of “‘I’m sorry for your loss.'”

The next wave of backlash came from the New York press corps, some of who noted how Cuomo was openly flouting his own rules about how families should not be traveling during the Thanksgiving holiday. An hour later, Cuomo’s office announced that he would no longer be having Thanksgiving with his 89-year-old mother and two of his daughters, all of who he originally planned to have “come up” to Albany for Thanksgiving.

During today’s coronavirus presser, Cuomo appeared to be in better spirits than he was yesterday, even though he included his usual warnings about how things would get worse again if New Yorkers let down their guard, etc. At one point during the press briefing, Cuomo – who has been caught on more than one occasion not wearing a mask in spite of his mandates on wearing them – debuted a holiday mask that fit him much better than he probably realized:

.@NYGovCuomo in Wyandanch: "We have a special mask — don't be a turkey this Thanksgiving! Wear a mask!" pic.twitter.com/62WXIYBU4h

— Jack Sterne (@JRSterne) November 24, 2020

Though the photo speaks volumes, the collective reaction from the members of the press corps who were sitting in front of him spoke volumes. Note below how it sounds like they’re giving him polite golf claps, kind of like they were going through the motions but were not really impressed. Maybe it was because he was treating them like they were children who needed to be educated?

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the clapping almost sounds like applause sound effects piped in from speakers somewhere close by:

Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) debuts the "don't be a turkey" mask very … enthusiastically.

"How beautiful is that? Tell the truth!" pic.twitter.com/LqfJ7X4RvX

— The Recount (@therecount) November 24, 2020

That video is the very definition of “awkward” and “cringe” but even with that said, the mask was indeed a good fit for “Governor Cancel Thanksgiving.”

According to Tom Elliott, Cuomo took the mask off a few seconds later because the rules, as we all know by now, do not apply to the Cuomo family.