Cuomo calls pandemic 'tremendous personal benefit' after his $5.1 million book deal

New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday called the COVID-19 pandemic a "tremendous personal benefit" to himself, according to reports. During the pandemic, Cuomo famously published a memoir about how he dealt with the health crisis, to which he received a $5.1 million book deal.

"Very few people were going through what we went through, and we went through it together," Cuomo said in a speech to fellow governors during an event Thursday, according to The New York Post. "And speaking for myself, it was a tremendous personal benefit."

Cuomo spoke virtually for 10 minutes at this year's National Governors Association, a bipartisan organization that promotes cohesion bethween U.S. governors. Cuomo had served as the chairman of the organization for one year. Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson succeeds him.

Cuomo came out with a book on his administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Oct. 2020 called "American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic."

Cuomo has Widely been criticized for his role in response to the pandemic in which the virus killed more than 50,000 New Yorkers, including approximately 15,000 nursing home residents.