Chris Cuomo responds to backlash after revealing he voted for his brother in the election

Chris Cuomo defended his decision to vote for his brother in the presidential election as he insisted Americans 'deserve better' than Donald Trump or Kamala Harris. 

The former CNN anchor, now at NewsNation, admitted this week on Real Time with Bill Maher that he 'got some heat' after revealing his vote on a podcast this week. 

'The choices to me were unacceptable for this country,' he explained. 

After Maher questioned him: 'Really? You couldn't have voted for Kamala Harris?', guest Mary Katherine Ham jumped in to note that 'a lot of people couldn't.' 

'I could have done a lot of things,' Cuomo continued. 'But my feeling is, we deserve better than this.' 

Cuomo added that he 'spelled his name wrong so I don't think it counts', although it is unclear if he was joking. 

It comes after Cuomo faced backlash after revealing he wrote in his brother Andrew - the former Governor of New York - on his ballot during an appearance on Patrick Bet-David's podcast. 

The admission drew scrutiny because Andrew Cuomo resigned from office in disgrace in 2021 after being hit with allegations of sexual harassment. He denied the claims and was never charged. 

In his appearance opposite Maher, Cuomo's confession that he voted for his brother to be president left the host laughing at the strange move. 

But Cuomo pointed to several reasons he couldn't bring himself to vote for Harris, including the way she ascended to the top of the Democrat ticket without a primary. 

'The process that the Democrats put us through was an embarrassment to Democrats,' he said. 

'And I grew up in a Democratic family with one of the greatest they have,' he continued, citing his father Mario Cuomo, another former Governor of New York. 

'I'm just saying, we have so much talent in this country... we just keep picking these people that represent the worst of us.' 

Cuomo's appearance came the week that Trump stunned Washington with a slate of controversial cabinet nominations, including Matt Gaetz for Attorney General and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead his health policy. 

He said after visiting Florida to report on the transition, Cuomo said he spoke with insiders who explained why Trump may have not gone for traditional, more experienced Washington players. 

'He has them there for one reason, and they are perfectly qualified to do it,' he said. 'Tell me if they're coming after me.' 

Maher also took the opportunity to slam Trump's unorthodox cabinet nominees, and joked in his monologue that Matt Gaetz was only nominated for Attorney General because 'Diddy wasn't available.' 

The talk show host also took aim at nominees Tulsi Gabbard, RFK Jr., and Pete Hegseth - saying the president-elect 'hit the ground trolling.'

'Two basic qualities you need: absolute loyalty to Trump and a name that makes liberals cry,' he said. 'So, Trump's dream candidate is a service animal named 'sugar t**s.'

Maher said of all the nominees, 'the one who caused the most consternation was Matt Gaetz as Attorney General - because Diddy was not available.'

'It's a bit of an unorthodox pick, I think we can agree to that,' he added. 'Usually a president wants someone as Attorney General who's familiar with Justice Department investigations, but not as a target of them himself.

'Matt is floating a new policy in the Justice Department — don't ask, don't card.'

Maher was referencing a Justice Department investigation into Gaetz on suspicion of child sex trafficking, which are among the same charges facing disgraced rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs.

The DOJ investigation into Gaetz was closed last year without charges, and he denies the allegations against him.