Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has sought to differentiate himself from Donald Trump by highlighting Trump’s “New York values,” triggering a heated exchange during Thursday night’s GOP presidential debate.
When asked by Fox Business Network moderator Maria Bartiromo to explain what the phrase meant, Cruz responded that his was not a complicated proposition.
“I think most people know exactly what New York values are,” Cruz said.
“I’m from New York, I don’t,” Bartiromo interjected.
“You’re from New York so you might not, but I promise you the people of South Carolina, they do,” Cruz answered. “There are many wonderful, wonderful working men and women in the state of New York. But everyone understands that the values in New York are socially liberal, are pro-abortion, are pro-gay marriage, focus around money and the media.”
Cruz continued to argue that his comment about “New York values” came in response to a question about Trump’s actions and the senator suggested that “not a lot of conservatives come out of Manhattan.”
Trump replied on South Carolina’s primetime debate stage by saying Cruz had made a “very insulting statement.”
“Conservatives actually do come out of Manhattan, including William F. Buckley and others just so you understand,” Trump responded. “He [Cruz] insulted a lot of people, I’ve had more calls on that statement that Ted made. New York is a great place, it’s got great people. It’s got loving people, wonderful people. When the World Trade Center came down I saw something that no place on earth could have handled more beautifully, more humanely than New York.”
Cruz applauded Trump’s remembrance of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City and the two stepped back from ratcheting up the attacks. The two Republican rivals sparred earlier during the debate on the issue of whether Cruz’s birth disqualified him from serving as president of the United States.
