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By Veronica Stracqualursi
CNN
New York gubernatorial hopeful Cynthia Nixon said that her opponent in the Democratic primary race, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, “folded like a cheap suit” in dealing with Donald Trump after the President attacked Cuomo for saying America “was never that great.”
“What we need in New York out of our governor is not somebody who just, you know, attacks Donald Trump rhetorically. We need someone who’s actually fighting the Trump agenda,” Nixon said on CNN’s “New Day” Thursday, following her tense debate with Cuomo Wednesday night.
During the debate, Nixon hit Cuomo for walking back his comment that America “was never that great” after Trump attacked Cuomo on Twitter.
“You backed down pretty quickly and stood up to him about as well as he stands up to Putin,” Nixon said to Cuomo.
On Thursday, Nixon elaborated on her comment, telling CNN she meant that Cuomo’s attempts to sound like a progressive had gone awry.
“He said something, Donald Trump tweeted at him, he folded like a cheap suit,” Nixon said.
Asked by CNN’s John Berman if Cuomo should have stood by his remark, Nixon said that both the governor’s initial line and retraction were “ham-fisted” and “real errors.”
Nixon, an actress and activist turned progressive gubernatorial challenger, has been trailing Cuomo in the polls, which have put his lead in the 30-point range ahead of the September 13 vote.
