Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and his wife Heidi will participate in a live town hall event with New York votes. Breitbart News will be providing live updates throughout the event.
All times eastern.
Anderson Cooper will again moderate the CNN town hall six days before New York’s GOP primary.
10:06: Heidi is asked what she would miss most about living in Texas. She says should the voters decide that Ted should be the next president, she says the beautiful sunsets and people who are unendingly accepting and focused more on what you can do for your community and not where you came from or what your address is. She says Texans welcome people from all over the world.
Cruz says Heidi grew up living in a small farm in Central California and didn’t have a television set so that is why she may not be movie buff like he is. Cruz says she didn’t grow up watching movies and Heidi would fall asleep and take naps at movies. Cruz says Heidi is a “California girl” and he says that her daughter told her mother that she can’t say she is from California anymore after he won his Senate race.
Cruz says in addition to Princess Bride, he likes the third Godfather movie and says it was a “nice culmination.” He also like Amazing Grace about Wilberforce.
10:04: Questioner wants to know what Heidi’s favorite movie is. Heidi says she enjoys “Legally Blonde.”
10:03: Questioner asks about a downfall that may have been responsible for their success. Heidi says be grateful for the rough patches in life because those are the times when you grow.
10:00: Questioner asks Heidi why Cruz has high unfavorables and if there are some things the general public doesn’t know about him that will improve those numbers in a general election. Heidi says one of the best things about marrying Cruz was getting to hang out with all of his friends. She says Ted is one of the most likable people she has ever met. He is a great game player, a lot of fun, a move buff and doesn’t take himself too seriously.
hang out with all of his friends Ted is one of the most likable people I’ve ever met. Great game player, a lot of fun, and a movie buff and doesn’t take himself too seriously.
9:59: Cruz’s daughters want Taylor Swift as their first guest at the White House if their dad is elected president.
9:55: Questioner wonders if there is a secret to raising daughters that will get him to the White House. He says raising daughters is a “wonderful experience” and little girls are so much a joy. Cruz says for Caroline’s sixth birthday party, she had a princess sleepover party and their favorite game was “attack the Dad.”
9:53: Cruz’s daughter Caroline’s birthday is tomorrow. She says she wants an American Girl doll and will have a Build-a-Bear party. Caroline says he favorite state is New York and she loved going to the American Girl doll store.
9:46: Questioner asks Cruz when was an instance in which he knew he should have taken his wife’s advice on something and then regretted not doing so. Cruz says there have been few instances where he has not taken advice from Heidi. Cruz says they became best friends in the process of falling in love because they started off in a long-distance relationship and had to talk on the phone so much. He says they usually reach decisions collaboratively. Heidi says sometimes Cruz doesn’t take out the trash when she asks him to… she says Cruz doesn’t often make the mistake of saying and doing things that he doesn’t own. She says that is why Cruz is prepared for leadership because he takes responsibility for his words/actions.
9:45: Heidi says she doesn’t Tweet and that has “huge advantages” when Cooper asks her if she had ever imagined she would be dragged into the campaign in the way she has been. Heidi say people care about freedom, security and Cruz’s defense of the Constitution and not about the silliness. She says we have to focus 100% of our energy on issues and not on the silliness. She says the simplest job she has ever had is telling people why her husband should be elected president because all she has to do is tell the truth.
9:42: Cruz is asked if he thinks attacking someone’s family is worth it to get political points. He says “of course not” and it is not okay to attack someone’s family, spouse. He says the approach he has tried to take is to not respond in kind when others attack him and his character, impugn him. He says policy differences are fair game. Cruz says he would never say anything remotely negative about Trump’s family and says on his end there is no truce to be had because he has not attacked Trump’s family and never will. Cruz now says Trump doesn’t want to talk about the issues and substance and instead wants to Tweet attacks. Cruz says he can’t control what others do but he will not respond in kind.
9:39: Heidi is asked what her platform would be as First Lady. She says to voters, family is important and one of the reasons she has been excited to campaign with Ted is the opportunity to serve others. Heidi says one of the great joys would be doing something that focuses on young girls and improving their self-esteem. She says another cause that she and Ted have shared and is near and dear to their hearts is school choice. She wants to ensure that every child has a fair and equal opportunity for a quality education.
9:38: Cruz says he follows Trump on Twitter when Cooper asks. Cruz says you can sit alone in the woods and still hear Trump’s Tweets.
9:37: Questioner wonders what Cruz’s family would say is the most annoying thing about him. Cruz says Heidi would say Cruz’s “iPhone.” Cruz says he is addicted to his iPhone games and Heidi can’t stand it and has wanted to throw it out the window. But Cruz says his girls love the iPhone and it drives Mommy crazy. Cruz says he has to do four laps in the living room to get hugs and kisses from his girls and “we have fun.”
9:34: Heidi says it was love at first sight and reiterate that Ted Cruz is an “incredible listener” and she wants all voters to know that. Heidi says thoughtfulness is one of Ted’s top qualities.
9:32: Cruz tells questioner that he and Heidi met on the George W. Bush campaign in Austin, Texas. They were in cubicles about 30 feet apart and he sauntered over to her cubicle and tried to act cool. He says the had dinner at a restaurant that night that lasted 3-4 hours and they shut the restaurant down. Cruz says it was love at first sight. Cruz says they had both come off of long-term relationships and were at a point where they were looking for someone and Cruz says he realized Heidi was his “soulmate.”
9:32: Cruz says Princeton was a world he didn’t know because his parents were just coming out of bankruptcy while a lot of his classmates were extremely privileged. He says one of the few times his father cried was when he went to work for the late Chief Justice Rehnquist and when he got sworn into the Senate. Cruz says his journey can only happen in America.
9:30: Cruz says he is very much a product of Texas when Cooper asks if he is more a product of the Northeast than Texas because Cruz was educated at Princeton and Harvard. He says his dad joked that he was doing missionary work when he went off to Harvard law school.
9:28: Cruz points out that New York’s can-do spirit is something America needs more of. But America doesn’t need more liberal New York values.
9:25: Cruz is asked about his “New York values” remarks. Questioner asks if Cruz has room for New York values and New York Republicans in his party. Cruz says that Trump, when explaining his support for partial-birth abortion on a Meet the Press appearance, explained that he was from New York and had more liberal social values. Cruz says the media lit their hair on fire after the comments and he was talking about liberal Democrats like Bill de Blasio who are hurting New Yorkers. He points out that de Blasio shut down charter schools that benefited low-income Hispanic/African-Ameriacn students because he was beholden to union bosses. Cruz says the clearest indication of liberal “New York values” was de Blasio standing with criminals, thugs over police officers.
9:24: Heidi says her kids realize that this election is something that is bigger than the family and they realize that their dad is running for president to make the country better for other kids. She says the kids get to choose which events they want to do but there are some “must-do events” as well.
9:23: Questioner, who is thinking about running for office, asks Heidi Cruz what it’s like to have her family in the spotlight. Heidi encourages the questioner, who is thinking about running for office, to do so because more women should run for elected office. She says if she could offer advice, it is to just be yourself and genuinely be yourself.
9:22: Heidi Cruz says it is an incredible learning experience to travel across the country and meet voters who share the same values.
9:21: Heidi Cruz joins Ted on stage. Their daughters are in the audience. Cooper asks her when was the first time she thought Cruz would run for president. She says the first time they talked about it was the summer before last.
9:15: Cruz says he is the best general election candidate because most polls show him either beating or tying Clinton. Cooper contends that’s not true in the last couple of months. Cruz now says he’s leading Clinton in key states like Ohio and Wisconsin. He points out that he is doing better among young voters than Clinton.
9:13: When asked about a potential Cruz-Rubio unity ticket, Cruz says Rubio is one of the best communicators in the Republican Party and he ran a campaign that inspired millions, including him. Cruz says Rubio’s Senate race was one of the inspirations that led him to challenge the establishment two years later in Texas. Cruz says he considers Rubio a friend but says Rubio would be a “terrific person” to consider for VP. He says you would be a “fool” to not look at Rubio seriously. When Cooper points out they had harsh words for each other, Cruz says that’s what happens during campaigns.
9:11: When Cruz is asked whether his “deputy delegate” fundraiser is misleading, Cruz says it was “obviously a fundraising email asking people to contribute.” He says his support is the grassroots and that is what is enabling his campaign to win race after race.
9:10: When Cooper asks Cruz about law enforcement deciding not to charge Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, Cruz says he is focused on winning the nomination and the general election. He says the “circus” is distracting everyone from the real issues like bringing jobs back to America.
9:08: Cruz says he is glad he didn’t find a horses head in his bed when asked about Cruz’s Michael Corleone/Godfather reference earlier this week. He says it is “grotesque” that the Trump campaign threatens voters. When asked if Trump is encouraging violence, Cruz says it is not funny when Trump encourages supporters to punch protesters and Roger Stone is threatening to make the hotel rooms of delegates public. Cruz says they are behaving like Democrats in Chicago in 1968.
9:06: Cruz says Trump and his team are like subjects in a clinical course in psychology when asked about the Trump campaign’s allegation of “Gestapo” tactics by Cruz’s campaign. Cruz accuses Trump allies of acting like thuggish union bosses. He says the Trump campaign often projects and accuses other campaigns of doing what they are doing. Cruz says what Donald doesn’t like is that he keeps losing elections in places like Wisconsin.
9:05: Cruz says the odds are looking more and more likely that Trump can’t get a majority. Cruz says he will be in a much stronger position to earn a majority of the delegates and unite the party in Cleveland.
9:04: Cruz concedes that Trump would have lost even if he had a better ground game because he has a “hard ceiling” in most of the states. He says Republicans are now uniting behind his campaign and mentions his victories in North Dakota and Utah. Cruz says what happened in Louisiana was that Trump won the early vote but the Rubio delegates later came over to Cruz’s camp.
9:03: Cruz joins Cooper on stage. Heidi will join him later. Cruz says the establishment is not rooting for him and the GOP establishment has been battling him every day. Cruz says Trump is unhappy that he is losing elections.
9:02: Cooper points out that everyone who is asking a question will be a Republican from New York.
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