The 'Daily News' Did NOT Like Cruz's New York Diss

In Thursday night's sixth GOP debate, Ted Cruz was asked about his recent claims that Donald Trump, a born-and-bred New Yorker, "embodies New York values." Cruz quipped that most people knew what he meant by the comment, and Fox Business Network moderator Maria Bartiromo said, "I am from New York. I don't." The Texas senator replied by saying, "You're from New York, so you might not. But I promise you, in the state of South Carolina, they do." Bartiromo and Trump weren't the only New Yorkers offended, and The New York Daily News responded to Cruz's "New York values" insult in a super aggressive way.

When Cruz actually explained what he meant, he said: "Listen, there are many, many wonderful, wonderful working men and women in the state of New York. But everyone understands that the values in New York City are socially liberal or pro-abortion or pro-gay marriage, focus around money and the media." Criticizing Trump for changing his previously liberal beliefs to better fit the GOP, Cruz claimed that not a lot of conservatives come out of Manhattan.

However, his plan really backfired, because Trump's defense of New York invoked how the city recuperated after 9/11. He noted: "We rebuilt downtown Manhattan, and everybody in the world watched and everybody in the world loved New York and loved New Yorkers. And I have to tell you, that was a very insulting statement that Ted made."

The New York Daily News was also very upset by the accusation that "New York values" are inferior or un-American and attacked Cruz on its cover Friday. Accompanied by an image of the Statue of Liberty flipping Cruz off, the cover read: "Drop dead, Ted. Hey, Cruz: You don't like N.Y. values? Go back to Canada!" Cruz was born in Canada, though he's a U.S. citizen like his parents, and telling him to leave if he doesn't like something about America implies that immigrants, and even natural-born citizens, should just move if they have any complaints about the country or their state. I'm in no way defending Cruz's attack on the city, but the newspaper overreacted in an equally offensive way.

Regardless of where he's from, telling Cruz to drop dead is a little harsh, even for The New York Daily News. If it reacted this way every time someone insulted New York, it could use the abrasive Statue of Liberty image multiple times a week. Let's hope that doesn't happen, for all our sakes.