Does Ted Cruz regret his "New York values" slam against Donald Trump?
During one of the first Republican debates of 2016, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz attacked rival Donald Trump for his "New York values," eliciting an impassioned defense of the city from the Manhattan business mogul on the debate stage. It also drew an immediate backlash for Cruz, with Republicans and Democrats alike criticizing the Texas senator for the campaign line.
But the firestorm surrounding the "New York values" attack hasn't stopped Cruz from using it on the campaign trail, or using it in negative ads against the GOP front-runner.
Now, as the Republican primary race continues to heat up ahead of New York's crucial April 19 primary, Cruz is trailing in the Empire State behind Trump by large margins, with the latest CBS News battleground tracker poll putting Cruz more than 30 points behind his billionaire rival.
Even with Trump's home turf advantage, some have speculated that the Texas senator didn't do himself any favors with his continued slams of "New York values." And Cruz's frosty reception this week while campaigning in New York City's boroughs shows he has yet to endear himself to the locals.
So does Cruz regret the comments?
The answer: "Not remotely."
Cruz, when asked by CNN on Thursday whether he regrets using the term, responded that "Everyone in New York and outside of New York knows exactly what I meant by that."
Cruz described those values as "the liberal values of Democratic politicians who have been hammering the people of new York for decades. They've suffered under these liberal values. It's been politicians like Gov. Andrew Cuomo, like Hillary Clinton, like Mayor Bill de Blasio."