Former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, whose uncle John Kander co-wrote "New York, New York," the song made famous by Frank Sinatra, bluntly weighed in after failed Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake pondered if Trump Tower had inspired the song.
Lake, an election denier who tried and failed to subvert the will of Arizona voters by casting doubt on Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs' election win, spoke at a rally about spending her 52nd birthday at Trump Tower and suggested the building was directly responsible for the success of the classic song.
She said:
“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.'"
“This was Trump Tower, this was New York City. If we could make it there, you can make it anywhere.”
You can hear what Lake said in the video below.
Kander swiftly shut down her weird claim with a simple fact-check, writing the following response:
"Kari, My uncle wrote that song. I assure you, he wasn’t thinking about Trump Tower, which didn’t even exist at the time. Also, he supports [Arizona Democratic Representative Ruben Gallego]."
You can see his post below.
Notably, Trump Tower could not have inspired the song, let alone defined the New York City skyline, considering the song was originally released in 1977, became a major hit in 1980 thanks to Sinatra, and Trump Tower itself did not open until 1983.
Lake was mocked almost immediately.
"New York, New York" sprung from a collaboration between director Martin Scorsese and songwriters John Kander and Fred Ebb, who composed the song for Scorsese's 1977 film of the same name.
While the song was initially performed by actor and singer Liza Minnelli, it was Frank Sinatra's 1980 cover that made the song an instant classic—a feat that, though unsurprising for the late, great Sinatra, is still rather funny given he was born and raised in Hoboken, New Jersey.
What silly thing will Lake think of next? Stay tuned because you won't have to wait for long.
