Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Appears Live on CBS this Morning

August 4, 2021

Gayle King: We now welcome you back to CBS This Morning. President Biden is now calling for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign after the state's Attorney General found he sexually harassed 11 women. The 165-page report by New York Attorney General Letitia James substantiated claims that he's sexually harassed current and former State employees in violation of federal and State laws. Now, James launched the probe after several women – several women, rather, accused Cuomo of touching them inappropriately, commenting on their appearance, and making suggestive comments about their sex lives. They also described his administration as a hostile workplace environment. Cuomo has maintained his innocence in a taped message after the report was released. He said he never touched anyone in appropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances. 

Governor Andrew Cuomo: That is just not who I am and that's not who I have ever been. I now understand that there are generational or cultural perspectives that, frankly, I hadn't fully appreciated. And I have learned from this.  

King: Now, this was a civil investigation. That means, it has not been sent to prosecutors for possible criminal charges, but local authorities could use it to build their own cases.  

Anthony Mason: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is among those who are calling for Governor Cuomo's resignation. The Mayor also just announced the City will start requiring proof of COVID vaccination for a range of indoor activities, including going to a restaurant or to the gym. New York is the first major U.S. city to introduce a mandate like this. It requires people to show proof of at least one vaccine dose and will be phased in starting later this month. Mayor de Blasio joins us now. Mayor, good morning. Thanks for being here at the table. I want to start with the investigation of Governor Cuomo. It's no secret there is no love lost between you and Governor Cuomo, but this is a very damning report. As you saw, the Governor came out with a highly produced response that included a montage of clips of him embracing people like former President Clinton. What did you make of the Governor's response? 

Mayor Bill de Blasio: The whole thing has been so painful. When you read this report, 11 women systematically wronged; 11 women confronted by a powerful guy who could crush their career, and their reputation, and he's the kind of guy that everyone assumes would if you crossed him. And he harassed them, he assaulted them in several cases, it's not even close. And then, he has the audacity to say, oh, you know, I like to hug people. I mean, that's just out of touch with reality, but it's also profoundly disrespectful. How about saying, I did something wrong, I have to atone for my sins, I need to go and deal with my problems? 

King: But he doesn't think he did anything wrong. He says that it's generational, or that it could be generational, and that he's not somebody who would intentionally inappropriately – 

Mayor: Putting your hand up a woman's shirt and touching their breast is not generational. I know plenty of guys who are older, who would never in a million years do that. Talking to 20-something year old women, asking them if they’d date an older guy and then leering at them – this is not acceptable behavior, it’s not even close. 

Mason: The Governor is not showing any indication that he's willing to resign. What do you think should happen next? 

Mayor: I absolutely believe he must resign for the good of New York State and our people. If he doesn't, the clamor, which is universal at this point, Democrats and Republicans, saying, he's got to go, is going to win the day. If he wants to wait for impeachment, he can, but it's coming soon in our State Legislature.  

David Begnaud: Should he be charged criminally?  

Mayor: It looks like it. I mean – 

Begnaud: Should he be?  

Mayor: Yeah. If you assault a woman, if you do something against her will sexually, that's criminal. And the Albany County District Attorney is looking at that and I think he should be charged.  

Begnaud: Let's talk about mandates. So, you're going to mandate vaccines for folks going indoors. How does this affect kids, by the way, who aren't eligible for vaccination?  

Mayor: Look, we welcome kids, of course, to restaurants, and movie theaters, etcetera. Wear a mask, that's a smart thing to do. And, hopefully, sooner, five- to 11-year-olds will be eligible for vaccination on top of that. But we don't want to separate families, we want families to enjoy stuff together, but in a safe environment for the folks who work in restaurants, gyms, etcetera, and for the customers. Here's what I love about it, you go into an environment, you know everyone's in the same place. You know everyone's vaccinated, everyone’s safe. 

Mason: I know it gives – I know, as someone who lives in the city, would give me peace of mind to know going in the gym, everyone's vaccinated, going into the restaurant, everyone's vaccinated. But do you think it could affect tourism?  

Mayor: No. First of all, we're in a city right now where about 5 million people who have gotten at least one dose. So, plenty of New Yorkers ready to go. Suburbs, even higher levels of vaccination. Tourists, the people coming here, more likely that they are vaccinated as well from all of our studies. Look, in the end, this guarantees the safety of everyone involved. And it's also going to encourage a lot of people. Just take that next step to follow suit. Especially, look, young people need – I can say, I have two 20-somethings – sometimes young people need a little encouragement. They want to go to restaurants, and bars, and concerts – get vaccinated and you're in, right? 

King: Mayor, they need a little encouragement repeatedly. 

Mayor: Yes. Amen. Amen. 

Begnaud: Who enforces this though, Mr. Mayor? Is it the business or is it you and the NYPD? 

Mayor: No. Look, first of all, we're going to implement this the next few weeks and educate the businesses, support them, find out what they need to make it work. We're not doing any kind of penalties until the second half of September. We want this to work for everyone. A lot of business owners have told me, thank you, this makes it easier for us. We can tell everyone it’s one standard – 

King: You’re giving them cover. 

Mayor: We’re giving them cover in a good way.  

Mason: You've not included an indoor mask mandate. Why not? 

Mayor: Because vaccination is the whole ballgame, I truly believe this. One strategy – vaccination. And masks – look, I'm using my mask, lots more places than that – 

Begnaud: We’re wearing it in the green room.  

Mayor: Right. But I also want to say to fully vaccinate people, our doctors say if you’re around fully vaccinated people, you have the option to take it off. I want people to get vaccinated to feel they can live life fully, have a lot of freedom. The reward of vaccination is freedom. Tragically, if you don't get vaccinated, you're going to be left out.  

King: There's a big concert coming to Central Park, August 21st, big headlines, celebrating New York. You’re okay with that? 

Mayor: Yes, indeed. Yes, indeed. Fully vaccinated. Same idea – vaccination is the whole strategy. To go to one of these amazing concerts, you have to be vaccinated. They’re outdoors, but you still have to be vaccinated. And, look, I'm hoping what we're doing with the restaurants, the movie theaters, the gyms, I'm hoping other mayors and governors will pick this up. Business leaders are telling me they like seeing government take the lead. It helps the private sector go farther. So, I'm urging all my fellow leaders around the country – Joe Biden said yesterday, yeah, this is the kind of thing people should do. This will just help everyone to get vaccinated and that's how we beat this godforsaken Delta variant. Don't take it lightly. We got to defeat it. 

King: We wouldn't have been in this position with the Delta variant if people had gotten vaccinated.  

Mayor: Exactly. 

Begnaud: Mayor Bill de Blasio. Thank you for being here.  

Mayor: Thank you.  

Begnaud: We appreciate it.