New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D.) said in a debate Wednesday he would stop lying when his primary challenger, actress Cynthia Nixon, does so herself.
The two were sparring over management of the New York City Subway, which is owned by the city but leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The subway has suffered under Cuomo’s tenure. The MTA is owned by the state of New York but Cuomo defended himself against the charge that his leadership has been detrimental to the system.
"He's had seven-and-a-half-years to avoid this very avoidable crisis in our New York City Subway and he has done next to nothing," Nixon said. "Why would the next four years be any different?"
"My opponent lives in the world of fiction. I live in the world of fact," Cuomo replied. "Let's just do a few facts, okay? The subway system is owned by New York City."
"The MTA has been controlled by the state since 1965," Nixon said.
"Excuse me, can you stop interrupting?" Cuomo replied.
"Can you stop lying?" Nixon retorted.
"As soon as you do," Cuomo answered.
Cuomo went on to outline his plan for funding the MTA equally between the city and the state, but Nixon said he failed to institute necessary reforms. He blamed the Republican state Senate for failing to pass the reforms, but Nixon hit back at him for allowing Republicans to control the legislative body.
"Didn't you allow Republicans to gerrymander their own districts?" Nixon said.
"No, no," Cuomo said, saying Nixon wouldn’t think that if she "knew facts."
Cuomo leads Nixon by a wide margin in the polls. She is running on a far-left, anti-establishment platform and has earned the endorsement of the New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.