sympathizer

The tension came to a boiling point in recent weeks when Steel’s campaign sent mailers depicting Tran as a communist sympathizer.

Lamorne Morris’ deserved win for his work in “Fargo” means he defeated recent Oscar winner and co-star in “The Sympathizer” Robert Downey, Jr. in the best supporting actor for a limited or anthology series or movie category.

There was a time when Downey winning for his showy, multi-role performance in “The Sympathizer” seemed a sure thing.

But his nomination was the series’ only recognition, which doesn’t indicate much enthusiasm for “The Sympathizer.”

Indeed, Nixon had famously triumphed in debates at crucial points during his career: Effectively smearing his opponent as a supposed Communist sympathizer during his first congressional campaign in 1946, then holding his own against the world's most powerful Communist, Soviet Premiere Nikita Khrushchev, during a so-called "kitchen debate" in 1959.