Chris Cuomo joins brother Andrew Cuomo at coronavirus briefing

CNN host Chris Cuomo joined his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), at the governor’s Thursday press briefing to discuss his own experience fighting the coronavirus after testing positive. 

“I’m doing pretty well all things considered, this is very tough, I get it now,” Chris Cuomo said, remotely joining his brother through a video chat as he isolating at home in his basement. 

He said the constant fever is tough, jokingly adding that “it’s not doing great for my hair.” 

“You look like you’ve been cutting your own hair,” the CNN host quipped at his brother. “I’ve chosen to wear a hat.” 

Chris Cuomo, who revealed some of his symptoms the night before during his Wednesday evening broadcast, described some of the hallucinations he’s had from his fever. 

“It was like out of a movie, I had hallucinations. I was seeing pop,” he said, referring to their father, the late Gov. Mario Cuomo. “You came to me in a dream, you had on a very interesting ballet outfit and you were dancing in the dream and you were waving a wand and saying, ‘I wish I could wave my wand and make this go away,’ and then you spun away and you danced away.”

“That’s a lot of metaphoric reality in that one,” Andrew Cuomo responded. “I thank you for sharing that with us, kind of you, obviously.” 

The governor added that the fever has clearly affected his brother’s “mental capacity.” 

“And being alone all the time, I think everything I say is funny now,” Chris Cuomo responded, laughing at his own comment. 

In addition to hallucinations, Chris Cuomo has said that he’s experienced intense and constant body aches. He told his brother he had a fever “this instant,” as he joined the briefing to discuss what he’s experienced from the virus. 

Andrew Cuomo thanked his brother, and told him by sharing his experience he’s doing a great public service by demystifying the coronavirus. 

“From a journalistic point of view you are answering questions for millions of Americans,” the governor said. 

Andrew Cuomo said he’d refrain from his usual joke fighting with his younger brother. The two have publicly aired their lighthearted sibling rivalry in recent weeks with the governor joining his brother to discuss the coronavirus pandemic on Chris Cuomo’s CNN program. 

“I know sometimes we joke, I’m not going to do that today. Rule one is never hit a brother when he’s down and you’re literally in the basement,” the elder Cuomo said. 

His younger brother shot back that “now’s the time to strike,” because he’d beat the governor if they “go toe to toe” otherwise. 

“I would come for it now,” Chris Cuomo said. 

“I have no doubt you would hit me when I’m down. That’s the difference between us, and that is my point,” Andrew Cuomo responded with a laugh. “That’s not who I am.”