Cuomo to Howard Stern: Trump ‘always makes a point’ to ask about brother

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) shared in a Monday radio interview with Howard Stern that President Trump regularly asks about the health of CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, the governor’s brother, who tested positive for the novel coronavirus March 31.

“Do you think [Trump’s] happy your brother got coronavirus because he works for CNN?” Stern asked on his SiriusXM program.

“No,” Cuomo replied.

“He’s been critical of Trump. Do you think [Trump] sits there and says, ‘Oh good,’ like there’s an enemies list or something like that? I feel it’s that vicious,” Stern said.

“The president always makes a point of saying to me, ‘How is Chris? Is he doing OK?’ And that’s not in his usual character,” Cuomo explained. “We’re not chit-chatty when we’re on the phone. But he always makes a point to say that about Chris and always remembers my mother.”

“So I don’t think that,” he continued. “I think part of it is genuine, personal feeling of anger and part of it is a little theater that goes with politics, especially the way it’s happening now in Washington.”

Cuomo has often thanked the president in his morning daily press briefings on coronavirus and its impact on the Empire State, which has become the epicenter of the pandemic.

“When you help my state, I’ll say thank you. If I believe that New York is not being served … I’ll say that, too,” Cuomo said March 30.

“Forget the politics, we have a national crisis. We are at war, there is no politics. There is no red and blue, it’s red, white and blue. Let’s get over it and lead by example,” the governor added.

The death toll from COVID-19 in New York stands at 9,385 in the state, with the overall death toll in the U.S. at 22,056.

Chris Cuomo has been anchoring his primetime program, which is often critical of the president’s response, while quarantined from home.

Trump often refers to CNN as “fake news” on social media and directly to network reporters during coronavirus task force briefings from the White House.

He has not appeared on CNN since August 2016, dating back to his presidential campaign.