Sen. Ted Cruz is briefly shifting his target from Donald Trump to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in a new radio ad days before the Empire State primary. No, it didn't have to do with the mayor's insensitive racial jokes. De Blasio, who recently endorsed Hillary Clinton, is suggesting Cruz is not welcome in the Big Apple. The senator is facing particular backlash for his proposal to surveil Muslim neighborhoods, a policy De Blasio has put an end to in New York. New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said Cruz's surveillance proposal would be akin to "maligning a whole population group.” Cruz's call to renew this policy, coupled with his controversial "New York values" remarks, proves the Texas senator is “out of touch with New York State and New York City,” De Blasio argues.
In a new radio ad for New Yorkers' ears, the Cruz campaign insists that De Blasio has no right to question Cruz's take on crime, considering the mayor's own hostile relationship with the NYPD. Entitled "Nerve," the ad also argues that crime has skyrocketed under De Blasio's leadership.
“De Blasio’s socialist policies are tearing this city apart,” Mr. Cruz’s radio ad charges. “Murder’s up nearly 10 percent. He treats cops like criminals and criminals like freedom fighters.”
The ad goes on to slam De Blasio for turning New York into a "sanctuary city" for illegal immigrants and ending the effective stop-and-frisk policy put in place by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
De Blasio's spokeswoman Karen Hinton said the ad proves Cruz "doesn't deal in facts." Crime in 2016 has declined under De Blasio, she argues.
Yet, De Blasio can't ignore the "fact" he's seriously ticked off the city's law enforcement. In 2014, NYPD officers turned their backs on the mayor after he suggested they were partly to blame for the city's racial unrest following the police death of unarmed African-American male Eric Garner.
Cruz has also weighed into the terror debate, denouncing President Obama for his non-response to the terror attacks in Brussels. After that horrific event, the president had the audacity to attend a baseball game in Cuba, arguing that not changing his schedule shows the terrorists who's boss.
In sum, political correctness does not solve crime.
Perhaps if De Blasio spent half the time targeting criminals as much as he does those evil horse drawn carriages in Central Park, crime in his city would decline.
"Send De Blasio a message and vote Cruz for President," the ad concludes.