Leave it to Donald Trump Jr. to put a proper bow on Fredo-gate.
“Hey @ChrisCuomo, take it from me, “Fredo” isn’t the N-word for Italians, it just means you’re the dumb brother. ?,” tweeted Trump Jr.
Hey @ChrisCuomo, take it from me, “Fredo” isn’t the N word for Italians, it just means you’re the dumb brother. ? https://t.co/sgg6yF7UDO
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) August 13, 2019
With much of America enthralled with the story of CNN anchor Chris Cuomo going berserk after some random dude called him “Fredo,” presumably the character in the mob hit, “The Godfather,” President Donald Trump’s eldest son responded to a tweet from Katrina Pierson denouncing Cuomo for calling that an “ethnic slur” to Italians.
It looks as if Cuomo was set up, as Random Dude, who insisted he thought Cuomo’s name was Fredo, was secretly recording the encounter as the CNN anchor threatens to “f–king ruin your sh*it — I’ll f**king throw you down these stairs like a f–king punk.”
But it was his comparison of Fredo to the n-word that really stood out.
“Any of you Italian?” the foul-mouthed Cuomo is heard asking in the video. “It’s an insult to your people. It’s an insult to your f–king people. It’s like the n-word for us. Is that a cool f–king thing?”
A characterization that CNN was on board with.
“Chris Cuomo defended himself when he was verbally attacked with the use of an ethnic slur in an orchestrated setup. We completely support him,” a spokesperson for the network said afterwards.
CNN skewered for defending Cuomo over ‘ethnic slur’, unfortunate network footage tells another story https://t.co/NJydyetvGG
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) August 13, 2019
Pierson, who is African-American and a senior advisor for Trump’s 2020 campaign, took to Twitter to charge that Cuomo’s assessment that the “dehumanizing” n-word was on the same scale as Fredo, “the dumb brother,” was “pure racism.”
“Did @ChrisCuomo just say that “Fredo” is to Italians what the N word is to black people? Th[e] N word is a dehumanizing word used against blacks who endured years of oppression. Fredo is a term from The Godfather, referring to the dumb brother. Equivocating the two is pure racism.”
Did @ChrisCuomo just say that “Fredo” is to Italians what the N word is to black people? Th N word is a dehumanizing word used against blacks who endured years of oppression. Fredo is a term from The Godfather, referring to the dumb brother. Equivocating the two is pure racism.
— Katrina Pierson (@KatrinaPierson) August 13, 2019
There’s a reason Trump Jr. responded to Pierson’s tweet and it exposes Cuomo’s rank hypocrisy — it seems that Cuomo realized that he had been caught on camera acting like an idiot and tried to justify his actions by summoning the “ethnic slur” defense.
This being the same Cuomo who sat there like a toad on a stump as CNN’s favorite Republican, Ana Navarro, called Donald Trump Jr. “Fredo” — which the first son was only too happy to share in calling out CNN and Cuomo.
Does CNN’s head of PR still think “Fredo” is an ethnic slur after watching this? Because if it’s the N word for Italians like @ChrisCuomo says, I don’t understand why Chris seems so at ease with someone saying it here. An excuse just as fake as his news. #FredoCuomo https://t.co/8G8yuY80CK pic.twitter.com/1gwVyDVCob
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) August 13, 2019
For the record, Trump Jr.’s heritage is German and Czechoslovakian, not Italian, not that Navarro depends much on facts when espousing her anti-Trump views.
Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, who lasted all of 11 days in the Trump administration, has since turned on his former boss in exchange for the fame offered by cable news, and he was quick to come to Cuomo’s defense.
Putting himself at odds with many Americans, which will likely ensure future guest spots on the network — Scaramucci, from an Italian-American family, declared that “Fredo” is “quite racist.”
“Chris Cuomo Threatens Man Who Hurled Italian Slur ‘Fredo’ at Him very proud of @ChrisCuomo this happens all the time. It’s quite racist,” Scaramucci tweeted, while linking to a TMZ article on the story.
Chris Cuomo Threatens Man Who Hurled Italian Slur 'Fredo' at Him very proud of @ChrisCuomo this happens all the time. It’s quite racist. https://t.co/RWzqqzpDWE
— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) August 13, 2019
Of course, it’s ridiculous to think that “Fredo” is an ethnic slur, given the character, brilliantly played by actor John Cazale, is frequently mentioned in social interactions for the iconic scene with brother Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino.
President Donald Trump certainly doesn’t believe so. He tweeted the video that went viral, adding the caption: “I thought Chris was Fredo also. The truth hurts. Totally lost it! Low ratings @CNN.”
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1161255687441342464?s=20
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The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.
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