cuomo de blasio feud part xvi 2x1
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).
Lev Radin, Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images
  • The feud between New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio continues.
  • After Cuomo mocked de Blasio for being disliked by New Yorkers, the mayor's top press aide hit back.
  • "Serial sexual assaulter says what?" the city hall press secretary told the New York Post.
  • See more stories on Insider's business page.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's press secretary launched the latest escalation in a longstanding feud between the mayor and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday.

Bill Neidhardt, the city hall press secretary, told New York Post reporter Nolan Hicks over the phone "Serial sexual assaulter says what?" when asked about Cuomo's comments about de Blasio from earlier in the day.

At a vaccination event in Buffalo, Cuomo shot down de Blasio's announcement that New York City will celebrate a full reopening on July 1.

"First, the mayor of New York, I don't know what he's indicative of. And I say that as a former New York City boy," Cuomo said with a laugh. "Ask the people in New York City what they think of the Mayor of New York City, and I would second their opinion."

Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi sent Insider a link to a tweet of a GIF from the movie "Top Gun" when asked if the governor's office had a response to Neidhardt.

The GIF shows Tom Cruise's character being confronted by a Val Kilmer, who portrays the protagonist's rival pilot.

As Cuomo has been beset by several scandals, de Blasio has been adamant that the governor should resign over the allegations from 11 women of behavior ranging from workplace sexual harassment to alleged groping.

In closing his Thursday press conference, Cuomo said he has not been able to get his "side of the story" out to the public as an impeachment investigation and the New York attorney general's review unfold.

"I can't wait to tell you my side of the story," Cuomo said, "and the time will come."

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