If Ted Cruz had any supporters in the Bronx, he has certainly lost them now. During a Saturday speech at something called the Americans for Prosperity’s Defending the American Dream Summit, Cruz used a dig at the borough to criticize New York Senator Chuck Schumer’s position on immigration reform. “Now, I understand that Manhattan is very concerned with their security with the Bronx, but it’s a little bit different on 2,000 miles of the Rio Grande,” said the Texas tea partier, whose knowledge of the area is probably entirely based on a single late-night viewing of Fort Apache, the Bronx.
Unsurprisingly, New York City’s liberal politicians did not take kindly to Cruz’s invocation of the borough’s bad old days. After calling Cruz’s behavior “pathetic” on Twitter, City Council speaker and South Bronx representative Melissa Mark-Viverito told the Daily News, “It’s sad that Ted Cruz would use tired and wrong stereotypes about the Bronx to try to advance his extreme political agenda. The truth is the Bronx is growing and prospering and doesn’t need to be insulted by Tea Party extremists like Ted Cruz.”
Meanwhile, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. advised Cruz to “grow up.” “Senator Cruz’s infantile attempt to score cheap political points by slandering our borough is revolting, and unworthy of the title of United States Senator,” Diaz added. And Mayor de Blasio aide Mahen Gunaratna had this to say:
Now we just need KRS-One to weigh in.
