Disgraced former Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo was eying up a presidential bid but was talked out if by his longtime ally Biden, a new book has revealed.

Cuomo, 65, resigned from his post in 2021 amid a sexual harassment scandal but was ‘privately’ considering running for the White House in 2019.

He decided against the move after being persuaded by his longtime friend Biden, 80, that he was ‘still young’.

The president also told him that both of them running would ‘cannibalize the middle’ and lead to a far left politician receiving the Democrat nomination.

The revelations have emerged in a new memoir by Cuomo’s former right-hand adviser, Melissa DeRosa, who served as Secretary to the Governor of New York from 2017 until 2021.

In her book, ‘What’s Left Unsaid’ she revealed that she and Cuomo met with Biden in Virginia ahead of the 2020 presidential primary at the former vice president’s Georgian mansion near the Potomac.

Ousted Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo was considering running for president back in 2019 but was persuaded not to by his longstanding friend Biden

Once there they had a meeting convened by Steve Ricchetti, now counselor to president Biden, and the two appealed to Cuomo to sit out the race.

 ‘They said I was still young,’ Cuomo recounted to DeRosa in the car after the meeting wrapped. ‘That if I ran this time, he and I would cannibalize the middle, and a Far Lefty would get the nomination.’ 

Cuomo, who had been ‘personal friends with Joe’s son Beau before he died and was first in line at his wake’, according to the book, was swayed by their reasoning.

He pledged to stand down and support Biden and did so ‘every day’ until his own resignation in the wake of sexual harassment allegations.

Cuomo stepped down in 2021 amid a probe into his behavior by New York Attorney General Letitia James and her damning report which found he had sexually harassed 11 women.

He has long maintained his innocence and claimed his resignation was to avoid an impeachment trial which would take up time and money.

Despite his close relationship to the president, Biden called for his resignation and admitted he had not read the report.

He said at the time: ‘Look, what I said was: If the investigation of the attorney general concluded that the allegations were correct, that—back in March—that  I would recommend he resign. That’s what I’m doing today. I’ve not read the report. I don’t know the details of it. All I know is the end result.’

Biden told Cuomo he was ‘still young’ and that if both of them ran it could split voters in the party’s center and lead to a far left nominee 

By contrast, DeRosa quit in solidarity with her former boss and has been among his most vocal supporters. She took aim at Biden’s behavior in the memoir.

DeRosa wrote: ‘Two years later, Biden turned his back on his longtime friend Cuomo without so much as even a cursory glance at the report, it created a stampede.’

She also criticized  ‘every member of the New York congressional delegation’ who called for Cuomo’s resignation, including Democratic governors Ned Lamont of Connecticut and Phil Murphy of New Jersey, plus US senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.

Read Related Also: Why you SHOULD purchase a home this fall: buyers facing ‘sweet spot’

She wrote: ‘None of them had read the report, and none of them asked any questions, a point underscored by the president of the United States himself when calling for his longtime friend and ally’s resignation.’

At the time he was considering a presidential bid Cuomo’s star was on the rise following his re-election for a third term as governor the year before.

His popularity exploded during the pandemic after he was roundly praised for his handling of Covid-19. 

His daily presentations and appearances on chat shows led to him becoming a leading Democratic voice in the pandemic and a $5 million book deal detailing the state’s response.

This eventually unraveled after it emerged Cuomo had presided over a disastrous policy of discharging Covid positive patients into nursing homes to deal with overcrowding in New York hospitals and then under reported the number of deaths as a result.

Cuomo (pictured in 2021 after his resignation speech) was considering the bid two years before he was forced to step down as Governor amid allegations he sexually harassed 11 women

The details of the meeting between Biden and Cuomo were included in Melissa DeRosa’s upcoming book describing her years as the former governor’s aide

He was ordered to pay back the profits from his book by The Joint Commission on Public Ethics but this was later overturned and he was allowed to keep every penny. 

Cuomo’s political reputation first began to crumble in December 2020 when former aide Lindsey Boylan became the first woman to go public with allegations of sexual harassment.

But despite mounting allegations, Cuomo refused calls to resign and only stepped down following James’ report, which included an allegation by former aide Brittany Commisso who claimed Cuomo groped her breast in the executive mansion in November 2020.

The disgraced politician has not faced any criminal charges and he has consistently denied wrongdoing. 

However both Cuomo and DeRosa were sued for damages by a state trooper who claims the ousted governor groped and sexually harassed her and that his aide allegedly covered it up.

A federal judge recently dismissed the suit against DeRosa, but it continues against Cuomo.  

The former governor saw his popularity rise during the pandemic thanks to his daily briefings and appearances across the media, however it was not to last as the impact of his failed policy of discharging Covid positive patients into nursing homes became clear

The soldier, known only as Trooper 1, claims Cuomo tried to kiss her, steered conversations toward sex, asked her to help find him a girlfriend and once asked ‘why don’t you wear a dress?’ 

She also accused him of inappropriately touching her while she was working in his security detail. 

As part of his defense, Cuomo has subpoenaed five of the eleven women he is accused of sexually harassing.

Subpoenas were sent to Virginia Limmiatis, Brittany Commisso, Ana Liss, Alyssa McGrath and Lindsey Boylan.