Mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo said Monday he no longer kisses people on the cheek unless they “initiate” the smooch — as he’s grown more careful since his “painful” sexual harassment scandal.
“I learned a lesson, a painful lesson, which is to be much more cautious about everything you say, any joke, any comment,” Cuomo said during an appearance on ABC’s “The View.”
“I won’t kiss a person on the cheek unless they initiate a kiss,” said Cuomo, a former three-term governor who resigned in 2021 while facing the harassment claims and threats of impeachment. “There is a sensitivity that has evolved that is real. It has to be respected.”
A 2021 investigative report commissioned by state Attorney General Letitia James concluded that Cuomo “harassed current and former state employees in violation of federal and state laws.”
The report portrayed Cuomo, 67, as a handsy governor who engaged in “unwanted groping, kissing, hugging and making inappropriate comments” with underlings — including a female state trooper.
Cuomo claimed James’ report was a politically motivated hit job and said the the slew of accusations did not stand up following criminal probes and civil lawsuits brought by accusers.
“Nothing came from those allegations,” he said.
But Cuomo repeated that, “If I offended anyone in any way, I didn’t mean it.”
The sexual misconduct accusations and exit from the governorship “was a very painful time for me and my family,” he said.
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Cuomo is running as an independent after he was trounced in a crowded June Democratic Party primary for mayor by socialist Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.
The former governor is now running as an independent on the “Fight and Deliver” ballot line in the Nov. 4 general election.
Also running is the Republican nominee, Curtis Sliwa, founder of the vigilante group the Guardian Angels.
Incumbent Mayor Eric Adam didn’t run in the Democratic primary and pursued re-election to a second term as an independent but dropped his bid last week in the face of abysmal polling and waning donations.
Cuomo claimed on “The View” that President Trump and Republicans want Mamdani to win the New York City mayoralty so they can tie other Democrats to him and his liberal policies during the 2026 midterm elections.
“Mamdani is a gift for [Trump]. Going into the midterms he will take a picture of Mamdani and run across the country and say, `Here’s what happened to the Democrats. They are communists. They hate the police,’” Cuomo said.
