F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote that “there are no second acts in American lives.” Cuomo brothers — former New York governor Andrew and former CNN host Chris — hope to prove him wrong. Andrew is apparently gearing up for (of course) a podcast. “My intention is to speak the whole truth, unvarnished, from the inside out, frank and candid,” Cuomo said in announcing his return to public life, of which this podcast is apparently only one part. As for Andrew Cuomo telling the truth, well . . . there’s a first time for everything, I guess.

The Cuomo arc was one of the most bewildering of 2020–21. For a few months during his time as New York governor, Andrew was widely lauded (never forget the “Cuomosexuals”) for his allegedly competent management of the pandemic in New York State, one of the hardest-hit places on earth. And Chris, as a CNN host, invited his brother on his prime-time show, giving him free PR.

Things began to unravel when it emerged that Andrew had ordered elderly Covid-infected New Yorkers back to nursing homes, turning those residences into Covid abattoirs, and then fudged the numbers to make it look like this action did not have the consequences it had. A host of sexual-harassment allegations against the elder Cuomo caused further unraveling. Initially defiant, Andrew ultimately resigned in August 2021.

When it was revealed that Chris had been privately — and extensively — advising him during this period while still employed at CNN, the network fired him in December 2021. Chris says in the debut episode of his podcast in July of this year, that although he regrets how everything ended, he will “never regret helping” his family.

Ordinarily, such blatant ploys for attention would be worth ignoring. Many public figures have taken to heart the destructive notion that all press is good press, and have done things as much for their fans as for their detractors. But the utter shamelessness of this Cuomo risorgimento (Italian for “resurgence”) is self-discrediting. To draw attention to it is to hasten its demise, and to weaken further the already damaged reputations of its promulgators. It won’t be a long second act for the Cuomos, but it will be a fitting one.