Exclusive | Andrew Cuomo repeatedly deflects blame, defends record while offering no apology for controversial COVID policies in often testy, 2-hour Post interview

He’s taking Cuo-no responsibility.Ex-Gov.Andrew Cuomo repeatedly deflected blame and stubbornly refused to admit mistakes on his lengthy record during an often testy two-hour Post editorial meeting Monday, as he mounts a comeback bid for New York City’s mayor.Cuomo claimed it was left-wing, “antisemitic” Democratic Socialists of America pols who were the true architects of the lenient criminal justice laws he signed — and of the woes facing New York and beyond, generally.Even when Cuomo couldn’t shift the onus – such as the COVID-19 pandemic’s worst days, when he was governor – he still didn’t admit fault.He defended the much-criticized March 25, 2020, directive issued by his health department requiring nursing homes to accept recovering coronavirus patients discharged from hospitals – a quickly rescinded policy that critics argue fanned the spread and death toll of frail, elderly immunocompromised residents.Not only that, Cuomo — who brought along a slideshow presentation reminiscent of his daily pandemic-era briefings — continued to deny any link.“You want the state to say, ‘we killed people’ and that’s not true,” Cuomo insisted during one spirited exchange when he was asked why he wouldn’t own up to the mistake.When Cuomo did fess up, he mostly did so in retrospect – such as conceding that relaxing lockdown rules and school closures could have been done sooner.And so it went.Cuomo defended his approval of the cashless bail law in 2019 that was approved by fellow Democrats in the state legislature, insinuating the pernicious influence of the far-left DSA lawmakers had tied his hands.“A governor is not a dictator,” he said, deflecting responsibility.“You do the best you can when you can … given the finances, given the political environment, given what you can get done with the legislative.”At one point, he even insisted he was not “a timid flower.”Elsewhere, he defended his sanctuary city and state policies.Cu...