Former GOP senator: ‘New York values’ will ‘crush’ Cruz in primary

Former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) on Wednesday said Ted Cruz would struggle in New York’s GOP presidential primary after knocking “New York values.”

“This ‘New York values’ comment is absolutely going to crush Ted Cruz,” Brown said on Fox Business Network’s “The Intelligence Report.”

{mosads}“I know New Yorkers as you know New Yorkers and they’re very, very proud, especially after 9/11 [and] how they so heroically came together,” Brown told host Trish Regan.

“I think Donald Trump was at his best when he made that reference and corrected [Cruz] and scolded him for his attitude towards New Yorkers. I think Donald’s going to win big in New York.”

Cruz has repeatedly attacked Trump’s “New York values,” arguing that they are too liberal for a Republican presidential front-runner. In a January GOP debate, Trump fired back at Cruz and praised New Yorkers’ response to the attacks on the World Trade Center, forcing Cruz to applaud his rival on stage.

On Wednesday, Cruz defended the critique while campaigning in the Bronx – he argued that Trump has long funded “liberal Democratic politicians” harmful to New Yorkers.

Brown, who has previously endorsed Trump, said the billionaire’s storied business career in the Empire State shows he cares deeply about its voters.

“When New York was down [and] they had the recession, the only people going there building was Donald Trump and a handful of others,” he said. “He’s actually put people to work in New York. They know him and his name recognition is off the charts.”

Brown said Trump winning New York’s primary on April 19 would help finalize his status as the Republican standard-bearer.

“Doing what Ted did yesterday in Wisconsin, Donald doing that in New York when there’s twice as many delegates I think would go towards establishing that, absolutely,” he said of Trump securing the GOP nomination.

Trump leads Cruz and Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) by 31 points in New York, according to the latest RealClearPolitics average of polls. His lead is thinner nationwide, however, with Cruz trailing by just more than 7 points behind Trump.