Ted Cruz was joined by his family at a CNN town hall in New York Wednesday night. The Texas senator talked policy positions and campaign life with host Anderson Cooper, but the candidate’s wife Heidi and the couple’s two young daughters stole the show.
Caroline, 8, and Catherine, 5, joined their parents on stage for part of the interview, taking soft-ball questions on topics girls of their age would normally discuss among friends and family. Catherine, who sat in her mother’s lap and kept quiet mostly, yielded the floor to Caroline, who didn’t hesitate to jump in to her father’s conversation from time to time:
1. While talking about a game she likes to play organizing the 50 state shapes to their geographic location, Heidi said Caroline’s favorite state is New York. The remark earned a few chuckles from the crowd after Ted was criticized for insulting New Yorkers’ liberal values.
2. When asked about her favorite part of visiting New York City, Caroline said, “I liked going to the American Girl doll store.”
3. Both girls agreed on the first guest they would invite to the White House if their dad wins it all: Taylor Swift.
4. Caroline then quickly volunteered her top three Swift hits, faster than a Millennial could have: “Bad Blood”; “Blank Space” and “Wildest Dreams” — all from Swift’s latest album 1989.
5. Thursday is Caroline’s eighth birthday and to celebrate she will go to the Build-a-Bear Workshop, where she plans to make a rainbow stuffed animal, but not-so-secretly hopes to receive an American Girl doll as her real birthday gift.
6. The girls, admitted music lovers, received karaoke machines for Christmas. That may be one reason their father is happy to be on the road so much.
7. During a daddy-daughter picnic at school, Ted said he dressed up in a pink boa and “big goofy-looking underwear,” adding that, somewhere, there are photos of the incident. Donald Trump is banking on this.
