Andrew Cuomo

Chuck Todd begins with Zohran Mamdani’s stunning victory over Andrew Cuomo in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary. He points to Mamdani’s cost of living messaging and youth as major factors in the victory, but cautions the party against embracing the “socialist” label, and wonders whether the party establishment will embrace or shun Mamdani. Then, Chuck is joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, who shares his deeply personal journey of living as an undocumented immigrant in America and how it shaped his perspective on one of the nation's most divisive issues. Vargas, who publicly revealed his undocumented status over a decade ago, discusses the atmospheric shift in immigration discourse under Trump, the bipartisan failures that have plagued reform efforts, and why he believes coming out as gay was actually easier than revealing his immigration status. He offers a unique insider's view of working at major outlets like the Washington Post while hiding his legal status, living in constant fear of deportation. The conversation delves into the broader media and political landscape surrounding immigration, with Vargas arguing that Democrats have failed to provide a positive counter-narrative to right-wing messaging that has made anti-immigration sentiment central to Republican identity. He challenges both parties for using immigration as a political football rather than addressing the human reality of 40 million people of Mexican heritage living in America. Vargas advocates for journalism that goes beyond economic impact stories to humanize immigrants' experiences, while grappling with the tension between objective reporting and advocacy journalism. The discussion also touches on America's demographic future, the need for immigrant labor to offset declining birth rates, and whether the nation can reconcile its identity as both a country of immigrants and a Judeo-Christian society. Finally, he answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment regarding the viral Ted Cruz vs Tucker Carlson interview and addresses the conspiracy theory that Starlink hacked voting machines in the 2024 election. Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Introduction 01:00 Zohran Mamdani beats Andrew Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary 02:30 Multiple possible explanations for Mamdani’s victory 03:30 Cost of living messaging resonated 04:30 This will supercharge the young vs old debate in the party 05:30 Will the “democratic socialism” label become a liability for the party? 08:00 Moderates rallying around Cuomo made no sense 09:00 This should be a wake up call for the Democratic establishment 10:00 Democratic voters are looking for “new” 11:45 Mamdani fired first shot in battle to rebrand the party 13:30 Rallying around Eric Adams would be a bad move for the establishment 15:30 Mamdani needs to expand his tent 17:30 The big tent illusion - Both parties claim to be "big tent" but aren't 19:15 It's hard to not have a "label" in our current politics 21:00 The Republican party has become a cult of personality 21:45 Politicians can't ever agree with the other side 22:30 The only politicians with a big tent approach are governors 25:00 The coalition that elected Trump is big tent, he isn't governing like it 26:30 Our politics would be healthier if there was four parties 28:00 Politics wasn't designed to be winner-take-all 29:30 Bipartisanship would produce better, more durable legislation 33:30 John Cornyn may drop out, but only if he can stop Ken Paxton 35:45 If Ken Paxton is the nominee, Democrats could win the TX senate seat 37:00 Center-right voters in Texas are homeless 37:45 The TikTok extension via executive order is illegal 38:30 Donald Trump has refused to enforce the law with TikTok 39:45 Pol

Joining me today is Lindsey Boylan, who in 2021 was the first of several women to accuse former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment. Cuomo would eventually resign, under collective pressure from Democrats at the state and national levels. Now, Cuomo is running for mayor of New York, where he’s leading in most polls. This might seem a shocking turn of events in a reality where Donald Trump — a convicted felon and adjudicated rapist — hadn’t just returned to the White House, but Lindsey isn’t sitting silently while Cuomo stages a comeback. She’s doing everything she can to stop it. In this episode, you’ll hear: Why is was less surprising for Cuomo to stage a political comeback than where he chose to make that comeback, as he spent most of his career taking resources away from New York City by leveraging it’s politicians and attempting to take power away from its mayor The cowardice within the Democratic party where party leaders who once called for his resignation are now backing away with a “let the people decide” attitude, rather than addressing the horrific actions people have taken Why it is so important for Lindsey and others like her to stand up against people who abuse their power, especially in today’s political climate Ranked choice voting — how it works and the 5 Good Apples And more! You can find Lindsey at Instagram (@lindseyboylanny) and Bluesky (@lindseyboylan.bsky.social). Her video testimony against Andrew Cuomo is devastating but important to watch, especially if you are a New York City voter. Connect with Stephen: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SER1897 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ThePlayTyperGuy Email: ser1840@gmail.com Join the Player Typer Guy Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/stephenrobinson