New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday that Ted Cruz owes the people of New York an apology for attacking their values.
“I think Ted Cruz has actually created a lot of anger, not only here, but a lot of people around this country are going to see this as divisive, negative and I think he owes the people of New York an apology,” De Blasio told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.
The Texas senator has slammed Trump for embodying “New York values,” including during Thursday’s Fox Business Network debate.
The mayor called Cruz’s remarks hypocritical Friday.
“Ted Cruz insulted the people of New York and by the way (it was) blatantly hypocritical on his part,” he said on CNN. “He has come here plenty of times to gain money for his campaign from people in New York. He’s very quick to put out his hand and get New York money.”
“And then he insults the people of New York and the values of New York, the very same values — (Donald) Trump’s right — that were part of overcoming the greatest attack this nation has ever received on our soil,” he added.
Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton also used Twitter to come to Trump’s defense.
“Just this once, Trump’s right: New Yorkers value hard work, diversity, tolerance, resilience, and building better lives for our families. -H,” the former secretary of state tweeted.
De Blasio’s defense of Trump is rare. He has criticized the Republican front-runner throughout his campaign for president, even calling his fellow New Yorker’s rhetoric “dangerous.”
“What he’s saying is corrosive to our democratic values. It’s dangerous. And I’ll call him out and I think more and more people are saying you know what it used to be to some people entertaining, it’s not entertaining anymore, it’s dangerous,” de Blasio previously said on CNN.
