During last Thursday’s otherwise uneventful GOP debate, Donald Trump stomped all over Ted Cruz‘s criticism of #NewYorkValues. One can imagine that many New York voters who were considering checking the Cruz box will now switch to another candidate. So, Trump’s campaign will benefit from this Cruz slip-up in a state where Trump’s presence already dominates the Manhattan skyline.
After returning from hiatus on Friday evening, Bill Maher focused on the biggest GOP issue of the week (which tells you how dull the GOP debate really was). Maher asked his panel, “What are New York values?” The host assured his audience that this was a real question:
“The Republicans who constantly lambaste Obama about dividing America, and then creates smaller and smaller circles about what really is America. Chicago? No that’s thug city. And Hawaii – part of Kenya. And LA is full of q*eers. You know, tell me what New York values are because I don’t know.”
The question, although genuine, was a rather rhetorical one aimed at proving Cruz’s obtuseness and habit of alienating city folk. Panelist Nicolle Wallace, a GOP consultant, delivered her belief that this moment will pave Trump’s “path to the nomination,” and Ralph Reed agreed by saying Cruz’s words would work to his detriment in Iowa. Maher wondered why Cruz could even fathom saying such a thing, for Cruz looked even worse when Trump showed some heart while talking about 9/11.
Some analysts believe Trump’s response was “below the belt” because there was no hope for Cruz to come back. As for Maher, he concluded, “I was wondering how long after 9/11 before politicians could goad sh*tkickers into hating New York again.” The answer appears to be “15 years,” and Cruz must now wait for political consequences to arrive.