On Thursday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said he believes New York State Assemblyman Ron Kim’s (D) claim that Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) threatened him over Kim’s statements on nursing homes and that such behavior is “classic Andrew Cuomo” and that he’s heard such behavior from Cuomo numerous times.
De Blasio said, “It’s a sad thing to say, Mika, but that’s classic Andrew Cuomo. A lot of people in New York State have received those phone calls. The bullying is nothing new. I believe Ron Kim, and it’s very, very sad. No public servant, no person who’s telling the truth should be treated that way. But yeah, the threats, the belittling, the demand that someone changed their statement right that moment, many, many times, I’ve heard that and I know a lot of other people in this state have heard that.”
De Blasio added that he believes Kim “100%. It’s — first of all, I know him, he’s a good public servant. I’ve always seen him as a person of integrity, but it’s just — the script is exactly what a lot of us have heard before. It’s not a surprise. It’s sad. It’s not the way people should be treated. And, you know, a lot of people get intimidated by that. I give him credit for not being intimidated.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett