Gov’s bro: Nixon’s run ‘impressive’

ALBANY — CNN and satellite radio host Chris Cuomo called Cynthia Nixon’s primary run against his brother, Gov. Cuomo, “impressive” and indicative of the split within the Democratic Party.

“I thought it was impressive and I thought it was reflective of a real problem in the Democratic Party — they don’t know who they (are),” Cuomo told fellow satellite radio host Andy Cohen Wednesday while promoting his new SiriusXM show “Let’s Get After It” that debuted this week.

“(Democrats) do have a push to the left that is a natural pendular reaction to (President) Trump,” he said.

Cohen said he believes Nixon wound up pushing Gov. Cuomo to consider issues he might not have otherwise, such as the legalization of marijuana.

Chris Cuomo (photo) said that’s part of the process.

“Testing is healthy,” Cuomo said. “That’s the nature. It should be a confrontational process. The more it is about you and the opponent getting it on, the better.”

Cuomo said Nixon as the underdog could go even further than the governor.

It’s more complicated for the governor, he said. “He’s the incumbent, and he had a much more likely chance of winning and having to govern on the basis of what he said.

“It’s kind of like in a boxing match. Cynthia Nixon was just throwing haymakers at his head. She had nothing to lose. She’s an actor. She wasn’t going to have to actually act on any of this unless she won, which was a long shot from the beginning.”

While Nixon represented the energy on the left of the Democratic Party, in the end, Cuomo said, “she just didn’t have the bona fides that other people who were making those insurgency moves,” such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist who defeated longtime Queens representative and power broker Joseph Crowley.