When Chris and I are together, usually, it’s during those few times in my life when I’m not in public and there is no one there to judge. We’re normally on a boat fishing or at a bar having a drink. Although we were on national TV, our natural rhythm came to the forefront. He teased me, as is his way, and I reacted, as is my way. Because it was his show, the odds were in his favor, and I was in a no-win position. He is my little brother: When he attacks me, it’s cute; when I attack him back, it’s not cute. But it worked and provided respite for people overwhelmed with heavy news.
The president, however, hates CNN and Chris in particular. I don’t think the president hates me as much as he hates Chris, but it depends on the day. Chris has done some tough pieces on the president, but nothing that wasn’t fair. That doesn’t matter; with the president, everything is personal. There are no principled disagreements, only personal disagreements. The president, when he is upset, likes to refer to Christopher as “Fredo,” a character in the Godfather movies. Let’s just say Fredo was not the favored son in the movies. But more, in my opinion, it raises the negative Italian stereotype of the Mafia.
Fredo is a Mafia reference that strikes many deep chords for me. First, that I should cause the Fredo reference to be repeated bothers me because I am inadvertently causing my brother pain. If the president wants to hit me, then hit me, but don’t hit my brother to cause me pain. In actuality, it is a very effective device because his attacks on my brother caused me more pain than any direct attack on me would cause. To the extent that Trump is aware of this, it is really nasty. As usual, his attacks would then be repeated by the New York Post. I doubt that President Trump and Rupert Murdoch are empathetic enough to appreciate how effective these attacks actually were.
The Mafia stigma is one of the most painful and vicious of anti–Italian American stereotypes. I fought it all my life as my father had done before me. I speak about it often to the Italian American community. The Godfather movies and The Sopranos all reinforce the stereotype of the Italian as the criminal and the thug. Some people repeat the stereotype out of ignorance. The Times Union in Albany published an insensitive column about Fredo, for which they were unapologetic even after Italian American organizations publicly complained. Some people just don’t appreciate how offensive stereotypes can be. As a New Yorker, I learned at a very young age that different religions and ethnic groups have their own experiences that must be respected. People who did not grow up in a diverse community don’t have the same level of sensitivity. Also, people who never felt the sting don’t appreciate the pain. I thought the Mafia stereotype might have died with my father. But the Fredo incident and its coverage said that it is alive and well.
I will fight it with all my might every time it raises its ugly head, just as I fight negative stereotypes and discrimination against any American. Any politician will tell you it’s not smart to fight with people who “buy ink by the barrel.” I know it’s not smart, but I also know it’s right. In my place in life, “right” is more important than “smart.” Maybe if I do my job right, the negative Italian stereotype will die with me, and my children won’t have to fight the battle or feel the pain.
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BUT PUTTING THE Fredo references aside, it was the plain facts that I laid out on Chris’s show on CNN that evening that were damaging to Trump. No other country’s federal government walked away from the national crisis as ours had. Every other country has been led by its national government. Only the United States would come to adopt this fragmented, every-state-for-itself approach.
I hit Trump and the federal government with both barrels. At least the federal government could help us with resources. Even if you say the states are responsible for the front-line attack, couldn’t the federal government at least help with supplies? Trump not only watched the news shows but also closely followed their ratings. The show I did with Chris that night got very high ratings. It succeeded in getting Trump’s attention.
MARCH 17 | 432 NEW CASES | 326 HOSPITALIZED | 5 DEATHS
“What are we doing? Everything we can.”
MINUTES BEFORE MY DAILY BRIEFING, I received a phone call from President Trump.
He was not happy.
The president had obviously seen the interview I did with Chris.
I tried to slow him down. “Mr. President, you’re a New Yorker. I’m a New Yorker. I told you what I needed, I asked you to mobilize the Army Corps of Engineers, I asked you before I wrote it in the Times, I talked to you before I went on CNN. This is about the people of New York, this is about saving lives, and I can’t do it alone! I need the resources of the federal government—you have the army, you have the Army Corps of Engineers, you have FEMA, you have the Department of Homeland Security—use them!”
The president was angry.
Rather than continue to fight with him, I appealed to him as a president and also appealed to his politics. “Mr. President, I will work with you,” I said. “I’m not running against you; I’m not running for anything. All I care about is getting the people of New York through this crisis.”
I meant every word. I said, “I’m going to do my briefing in a few minutes. Let someone watch and tell you what I said. I will go first in the spirit of good faith.”
When I hung up the phone, Melissa was standing in my office looking upset.
