The nephew of John Kander, one half of the Kander and Ebb songwriting duo behind the iconic “Theme from New York, New York,” hit back at Kari Lake’s remarks on the song at Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Arizona on Friday.
Lake, a Trump-endorsed election denier and the GOP nominee for a U.S. Senate seat in the state, reflected on spending her 52nd birthday with the former president in New York City and described using “that famous golden escalator” as well as a “golden elevator” to get to the 26th floor of Trump Tower.
“Donald Trump had indeed built that, a big part of the skyline of New York. And I — and I thought to myself, so is this what Frank Sinatra sang about in ‘New York, New York,’” said Lake of the singer’s hit cover of a song originally performed by Liza Minnelli.
She continued, “This was Trump Tower, this was New York City. If we could make it there, you can make it anywhere.”
Former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander (D), nephew of the song’s co-writer, took to social media to issue a Big Apple reminder for Lake on Saturday.
“Kari, My uncle wrote that song. I assure you, he wasn’t thinking about Trump Tower, which didn’t even exist at the time,” wrote Kander of a building completed several years after the song’s release.
He later made mention of Lake’s Democratic opponent in the Arizona race, writing: “Also, he supports @RubenGallego.”