Gov. Andrew Cuomo keeps using fake quotes from a fictional person during his coronavirus briefings

A.J. Parkinson was a character invented by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s father, Gov. Mario Cuomo, to “echo/amplify/or otherwise emphasize maxims”:

.@NYGovCuomo again quoting himself – aka A.J. Parkinson – as saying "an outbreak anywhere is an outbreak everywhere."

Again, A.J. Parkinson is NOT REAL.

It is a fictional character, used by the governor's father, Mario, used to echo/amplify/or otherwise emphasize maxims.

— Jesse McKinley (@jessemckinley) May 3, 2020

This fake person is known to the press covering Gov. Cuomo the younger, but do people at home know about it?

.@palafo, exemplary breaking news editor at NYT, dug deep to find this 1984 account of A.J. Parkinson, the fictional political philosopher much loved by the Cuomos. https://t.co/IPzwFwQM4m https://t.co/gqCjAsJmpe

— Jesse McKinley (@jessemckinley) April 27, 2020

He needs to stop doing this:

Cuomo, who has probably run out of quotes after nearly two months of doing this, turns to a quote from the fictitious philosopher A.J. Parkinson who was regularly quoted by his father pic.twitter.com/dqEW546qw7

— Bill Mahoney (@mahoneyw) April 17, 2020

This is the charitable interpretation:

.@NYGovCuomo pays homage to his father by quoting A.J. Parkinson, a made-up character Mario Cuomo used to quote quite often

— ken lovett (@klnynews) April 17, 2020

But it’s like a bit out of “The Office” at this point:

Cuomo just put his own quote on a PowerPoint slide and asked us if we thought A.J. Parkinson (who doesn't exist!) said it.

"When life knocks you on your rear, learn and grow."

Some strong "'-Wayne Gretzky' -Michael Scott" vibes here.

— Jon Campbell (@JonCampbellGAN) May 1, 2020

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