New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, playfully took jabs at one another during the governor's press conference Thursday, with Chris giving details on his own experience battling coronavirus.
Chris, who announced in a tweet on Tuesday that he had tested positive for the virus, joined the governor's news conference by video.
"I'm doing pretty well, all things considered," he said. "This is very tough. I get it now. I've now become part of this group of people who have this virus."
The journalist, taking off his baseball cap, joked that his hair has not been doing great, and it's been tough to keep his locks the way he wants them.
"You look like you've been cutting your own hair," Chris said to his brother, sarcastically adding, "Which some people are good at, some people are not. I've chosen to wear a hat because I don't want to butcher my own haircut."
Getting back on a serious note, Chris said he better understands the virus' impact now from his own experience.
"I see why it takes people out," he said. "You've got to rest because your body has the fever because it's fighting the virus. And you have to chill."
Chris thanked his wife and family for helping him and said he couldn't imagine having to fight the coronavirus alone. "I'm very lucky."
"We're in a real fight and we really do have to remember our connections to each other because otherwise, there'd be no way through," the CNN anchor said.
While Andrew commented several times that his brother looked healthy, Chris said he did have a fever and talked about experiencing hallucinations. In one dream, according to the journalist, Andrew Cuomo came to him wearing a "very interesting ballet outfit" and waving a wand before dancing away.
The governor laughed and joked that the "fever has affected your mental capacity."
The two continued to banter, with Andrew telling his brother that he was going to take it easy on him because he's sick.
"Rule one is never hit your brother when he's down, and you're literally in the basement, so I'm going to refrain from any rebuttable today," the governor said. Chris, however, said that this is probably his best chance "to strike."
"Once I'm healthy, I'm not going to forget all the jokes that you made at my expense," Chris said.
The back-and-forth ended with the governor's praising Chris for showing strength and continuing his broadcasts since his diagnosis.
"For you to get up, do that show, share with people. That is a strength, and a character strength, that is really incredible," the governor said. "We joke a lot, but the strength that you showed here and the dedication to journalism and your skill and your ability to make this OK for people and to communicate it, you can have the coronavirus and, you know, life goes on ... you're showing that."
