Iowa Congressman Steve King, a national co-chair of Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign, conceded that Donald Trump got the better of Cruz on the discussion of “New York values.”
The Texas senator’s allegation that Trump has “New York values” appeared aimed at GOP primary voters far-removed from the East Coast. But King’s reaction indicates it may have played poorly outside the New York City media echo chamber, too.
In an interview with CNN’s Christopher Cuomo, brother of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, King explained how he graded the Trump-Cruz scrap.
“I didn’t think he [Cruz] went too far until I saw Donald Trump’s reaction,” King said. “And then I thought it would’ve been better on the part of Ted Cruz not to have had that exchange.”
King said Trump revealed more of his heart in that exchange than he typically does on the campaign trail and made it an emotional component of the debate. Cruz is on the campaign trail in South Carolina through Saturday and will stump in New Hampshire on Sunday.
Cruz ranks first in the Washington Examiner‘s new GOP presidential power rankings. Trump fell to second place.
