Some people like to face their fears. Others like to ignore them and pretend they’re not there. And now we know that Governor Andrew Cuomo definitely belongs in the second camp.

We knew that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) was too afraid to debate his primary challenger, Progressive Fordham University law professor Zephyr Teachout. But we didn’t know that he was so afraid of her, her mere presence causes him to shut down, pretends she’s not there, and screams for help.

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Until this weekend… when Teachout threatened Cuomo with an attempted “hello,” at New York City’s Labor Day Parade on Saturday.

NYTrue.com captured the video of the terribly scary exchange. Here’s a blow by blow.

Teachout and her running mate Tim Wu menacingly approach Cuomo and his running Kathy Hochul.

Cuomo’s campaign manager, Joe Pecoco, protects the Cuomo and Hochul, putting his life on the line as he bravely places his body between Teachout and Cuomo.

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Teachout harasses the Governor and his staff, shouting aggressive, inappropriate things like, “Hi, how we doing?”

Unable to get through, Tenacious T, doggedly pursues her victims through another route. Understandably scared for their lives, Cuomo and Hochul turn away from Teachout.

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Teachout then assaults Hochul with a brutally light tap on the arm.

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Sensing that his death is a mere seconds away, a desperate Cuomo shouts for help

Where’s Mayor Bill de Blasio? Where’s the Mayor when you need him? Where’s the Mayor? We need the Mayor!

Mayor, and, apparently, part-time superhero, Bill de Blasio emerges from the crowd, which he disperses by making threatening exaggerated Italianate gestures, including the “mama mia”…

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… and the “fist bite.”

Mayor de Blasio comes to the rescue just in time, embracing Hochul and Cuomo in an impenetrable hug of safety and security.

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And just like that, de Blasio thwarts what could have been the first New York State gubernatorial assassination.





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Later that day, when asked by Newsday’s Matthew Chayes about the run in with Teachout an obviously shaken Cuomo says, “I know she was at the parade. i didn’t get a chance to speak to her.” Like many victims of trauma, Cuomo seems to have repressed the memory of refusing to talk to Teachout. I suggest, Governor Cuomo, that if and when memories of the event surface, you close your eyes and imagine the happy place that is Bill de Blasio.