Former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo turned on Anderson Cooper Wednesday after the latter's remarks about ex-New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu.
The NewsNation host publicly pondered whether the insult made Cooper 'look like a fool', after the latter told Sununu not to 'be a d**k' during a televised discussion Tuesday.
The conversation surrounded the activities of Elon Musk’s new government efficiency agency DOGE, which the billionaire defended during an Oval Office appearance hours earlier.
'It was surreal,' Sununu said of the press conference on the set of A360. Responding to a torrent of criticism, he said he was impressed that Musk 'gave seven specific examples off the top of his head of where the corruption and fraud were.'
An unconvinced Cooper replied that Musk 'doesn’t present any actual evidence' to support his - self-admittedly - sometimes unfounded claims.
Sununu, a Republican, responded, 'He's standing there in the Oval Office. Do you expect him to come in with 10,000 pages?'
A back-and-forth ensued, during which Cooper apparently lost his cool. 'Don't be a d**k,' he told Sununu. 'The portrayal by [Musk] is just not factually accurate.'
After a commercial break, Cooper apologized, but Cuomo said the damage was already done before pointing to the current state of journalism.
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Former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo turned on Anderson Cooper Wednesday after the latter's remarks about ex-New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu
The NewsNation host publicly pondered on the air whether the insult made Cooper 'look like a fool', after the latter told Sununu not to 'be a d**k' during a televised discussion Tuesday (seen here)
'Didn’t bother the Gov, sure... but it also made Coop look like a fool, right?” Cuomo asked aloud on his show, after a classy Sununu accepted the apology.
'Look, I believe Anderson Cooper is the best in the business,' he continued of his old fried. '[But] when he surrenders to this ugliness, you know things are out of hand.
'He knows why he said it,' Cuomo - who secretly aided his disgraced former governor brother Andrew Cuomo before being fired in December 2021 - went on.
'He said it because that’s what the left is demanding these days, a muscularity. You got to be mean back to them.'
'This animus, it’s become contagious,' he said later on, chiding media members for being 'inhumane' under the pretense of 'being tough.'
'It’s like this proxy for rigor and toughness,' Cuomo explained. 'Being mean is not the same as being tough.'
The evening earlier, during the AC360 episode in question, Cooper apologized to his guest within five minutes, acknowledging he had been 'rude.'
'Are you kidding? I grew up with seven brothers and sisters,' Sununu, who served as his state's governor from 2017 to this year, said in response.
The conversation surrounded the activities of Elon Musk’s new government efficiency agency DOGE, which the billionaire defended during an Oval Office appearance hours earlier
'It was surreal,' Sununu said of the press conference on the set of A360. Responding to a torrent of criticism, he said he was impressed that Musk 'gave seven specific examples off the top of his head of where the corruption and fraud were'
![An unconvinced Cooper replied that Musk 'doesn¿t present any actual evidence' about his sometimes unfounded claims. A back-and-forth ensued, during which Cooper lost his cool. 'Don't be a d**k,' he told Sununu. 'The portrayal by [Musk] is just not factually accurate'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/02/13/15/95131741-14393917-An_unconvinced_Cooper_replied_that_Musk_doesn_t_present_any_actu-a-6_1739460939511.jpg)
An unconvinced Cooper replied that Musk 'doesn’t present any actual evidence' about his sometimes unfounded claims. A back-and-forth ensued, during which Cooper lost his cool. 'Don't be a d**k,' he told Sununu. 'The portrayal by [Musk] is just not factually accurate'
'I’m a former governor. You want to know what I’m normally called?' he joked. 'That’s one of the nicest things I’ve been called all week.'
Sununu went on to appear on Cuomo's show later on, where the former again laughed things off upon be asked about the incident.
In response, Sununu again took it in stride, joking that he’d had about 'six comebacks' he thought were 'really funny', but elected to keep things serious.
'If anything, I said, "Oh, this is great. We’re having a political argument like me and my buddy would over a beer,"' he laughed, as many took issue with Musk's White House appearance.
'You’re just kind of giving it to me and I’m giving it back… he’s a great guy. I don’t take any offense.'
In a continuation of his earlier monologues, Cuomo went un to urge journalists to 'fight this temptation' to 'dehumanize' people during their coverage.
He went on to concede Cooper was a “classy guy', pointing to his apology
'[Cooper] has fallen for what’s going around, which is that insults are the counter,' he said after Sununu's spot. 'But they’re not. Insults are not a proxy for better insights on how to test power and how to govern.'
Sununu went on to appear on Cuomo's show later on, where the former again laughed things off upon be asked about the incident
Cuomo was fired from CNN in 2021 after it was revealed he helped his brother Andrew Cuomo attempt to navigate his own sexual harassment scandal. His show drew an average of 774,000 viewers, more than 200,000 than what the network now rakes in during primetime
He joined CNN as a field anchor in February 2013, after stints at ABC and Fox News. After rising through the ranks, he was tapped in March 2018 to host Cuomo Prime Time, then CNN's highest rated broadcast
Cuomo was fired from CNN in 2021 after it was revealed he helped his brother attempt to navigate his own sexual harassment scandal that sparked his resignation.
At the time, CNN's statement cited only Cuomo's 'conduct with his brother’s defense' in its decision to terminate the anchor.
Following his firing, he insisted that he was only helping his brother, who went on to resign the following August to avoid impeachment.
'This is not how I want my time at CNN to end,' the veteran TV journalist wrote in a post published to social media at the time.
'But I have already told you why and how I helped my brother.'
He joined CNN as a field anchor in February 2013, after stints at ABC and Fox News. After rising through the ranks, he was tapped in March 2018 to host Cuomo Prime Time, then CNN's highest rated broadcast.
It drew an average of 774,000 viewers. Today, CNN secures roughly 522,000 viewers, during the hours of 8-11 pm ET. Cuomo's show aired at 9pm.
