While Donald Trump cynically maintains that he has no clue what Ted Cruz’s phrase “New York values” means – and while he scurrilously implies that Cruz has some sort of malicious, nasty feeling about New Yorkers over 9/11 – video has now emerged of a nationally televised 1999 interview in which Trump seems completely familiar with the “New York values” to which Cruz referred.
Trump appeared on Meet The Press on October 24, 1999, where he had several exchanges with Tim Russert:
RUSSERT: Do you think gays should be allowed to be married?
TRUMP: It’s something I haven’t given lots of thought to. I live in New York City, there is a tremendous movement on to have and allow gay marriage. It’s just something that is too premature for me to comment on.
RUSSERT: How about gays serving in the military?
TRUMP: It would not disturb me. I mean, hey, I lived in New York City and Manhattan all my life, so my views are a little bit different than if I lived in Iowa, perhaps…
Then there was this exchange:
RUSSERT: Partial birth abortion. Eliminating of abortion in the third trimester. Big issue in Washington. Would President Trump ban partial birth abortion?
TRUMP: Well, look, I’m very pro-choice…and again, it may be a little bit of a New York background, because there is some different attitude in different parts of the country, and you know, I was raised in New York, and grew up and work and everything else in New York City.
RUSSERT: But you would not ban it.
TRUMP: No…I am pro-choice in every respect as far as it goes, but I just hate it.
Here is Cruz’s description of “New York values” from last night: “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.”
In other words, Cruz’s description of “New York values” are precisely the values that Trump specifically cites as springing from his New York upbringing. Repeatedly. And even distinguishes from Iowa values. Amazing.
What a cynical phony Trump is on this issue. And now you have the video proof.