That Time Donald Trump Handed NY Governor Candidate Cynthia Nixon an Emmy (Video)

It was Cynthia Nixon’s first Emmy and the start of Donald Trump’s decade-long run on “The Apprentice”

Before becoming a candidate for governor of New York, Cynthia Nixon spent decades as a celebrated actress on the small screen. Now an old video has resurfaced of the star receiving her first Emmy award in 2004 — from Donald Trump.

The billionaire real estate magnate was on hand with American Idol’s Simon Cowell to present the award for “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.” The honor went to Nixon for her role as Miranda Hobbes in “Sex and the City.”

Trump, then serving in his first season as host of The Apprentice, was just embarking on his own decade long television career before being elected President in 2016.

Trump famously never won an Emmy despite his successful run on “The Apprentice” — something he famously complained about in his final presidential debate against Hillary Clinton.

While she does not share his politics, Nixon may have been inspired by Trump to pursue her own political career in New York. On Monday, she announced she would challenge the state’s sitting governor Andrew Cuomo in what will likely be an intense fight for the state’s Democratic primary.

“I love New York. I’ve never lived anywhere else,” said Nixon in a promotional video released Monday. “But something has to change. We want our government to work again, on healthcare, ending mass incarceration, fixing our broken subway. We are sick of politicians who care more about headlines and power than they do about us. It can’t just be business as usual anymore.”

Nixon took a series of subways to make it by 11 a.m. to her campaign kickoff event in Brownsville, Brooklyn on Tuesday, something she happily complained about to the New York Times’ Shane Goldmacher.

“A quintessential moment in Cuomo’s MTA,” said Nixon.

“We need to fix our broken subway. It’s worse every day. You and I know that because, unlike Governor Cuomo, you and I are on it everyday,” said Nixon in Brownsville in formal remarks. “If you don’t have the means to hop out of the subway and take a cab to work you risk getting fired. The subway is the lifeblood of our city. If the subway dies, so does the city of New York — and right now, it’s on life support.”

As the man who controls the MTA, which maintains New York City’s famously crumbling subway, Cuomo is vulnerable to angry New Yorkers caught in perennial delays. A devastating New York Times investigation found routine mismanagement from the governor including gutting MTA funding to bail out a bankrupt ski resort on upstate New York.

Zephyr Teachout, an unknown primary challenger against Cuomo, snagged 34 percent of the vote in 2014.

Comments