The ex-NY governor said he'd 'probably' run against Biden if he was still in office
Dean Phillips makes presidential primary challenge against Biden official
FOX News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram has the latest on Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., announcing his presidential bid on 'Special Report.'
Former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called for a Democratic primary against President Biden during his Friday night appearance on "Real Time with Bill Maher."
Cuomo began by taking a swipe against Biden, who joined the calls for Cuomo to resign during his sexual harassment scandal, claiming the president was influenced by "fear-driven politics."
"I think what Biden's calculus was — he was accused [by] Tara Reade, fingers in the vagina… other women came out — ‘He smelled my hair,’ etc. He wanted to quickly distance himself from this," Cuomo said. "He could have said, 'You know what? I went through this. Let's take a deep breath and actually get the facts before we ask a governor to resign.'"
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"So would you be running against him right now?" Maher asked.
"Probably, probably," Cuomo responded.
"Really?" a shocked Maher reacted. "Even with him sitting in office?"
"Probably," Cuomo doubled down. "I think there should be a Democratic primary."
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said there should be a Democratic primary against President Biden during his appearance on "Real Time with Bill Maher." (Screenshot/HBO)
"I don't know that candidate Biden is the strongest candidate that we can put up, and frankly, I doubt it," Cuomo continued. "I think the Democratic Party has to engage with real people and real voters on a different level. They're too much ‘Trump is no good and Trump is a bum.’ You can't run on banking that the other guy is gonna lose. You have to have an affirmative strategy to win, and the truth is there has been a paralysis of government, right? There's social division, political polarization equals government paralysis, and that is on the ground. And they have to see that, and they have to answer that."
The ex-New York governor then railed against LA's homeless crisis, comparing what he saw on his ride to Maher's studio to a "science fiction movie."
"We have a real crime problem in this nation," Cuomo told Maher. "Well there's the George Floyd, everybody hates police. Yes, there should be better police and better-trained police, but ‘defund the police’ were the three dumbest words uttered by the Democratic Party!"
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo swiped President Biden for not supporting him during the New York Democrat's sexual harassment scandal. (Getty Images)
While it appears Cuomo will be sitting on the sidelines during the 2024 election cycle, Biden did receive a new Democratic challenger in the form of Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, who launched his longshot bid Friday.
Phillips joins spiritual guru and former 2020 candidate Marianne Williamson as the only Democratic challengers to Biden. Earlier in October, fellow 2024 hopeful Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. launched an independent bid for the White House after previously running as a Democrat. Progressive activist Cornel West is also running as an independent.
Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota declares his candidacy for president, as he launches a 2024 Democratic nomination challenge to President Biden, at a rally outside the New Hampshire Statehouse in Concord, N.H. on Oct. 27, 2023 (Fox News - Paul Steinhauser)
Maher has been outspoken in his call for Biden to step aside, predicting he would lose to former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical rematch.
The liberal comedian has been comparing Biden to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who famously chose not to resign during the Obama years and was later replaced by a conservative justice under Trump, calling the president "Ruth Bader Biden" and even selling merchandise that reads, "Time to go, Joe!"
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Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to
