Ted Cruz jeered on ‘The View,’ gets one-finger Bronx salutes at The Stadium as Yankees lose to Astros
Ted Cruz was reminded of his value to New York City with a night-day doubleheader of disdain that played out on national television.
The Texas senator — who riled up New Yorkers six years ago when he slammed “New York values” in his failed campaign for president — proved popular as ever in his contentious return to the big city. That adventure began with insults and one finger-salutes Sunday night in Yankee Stadium, followed by a visit to ABC’s “The View” on Monday morning that was interrupted by angry protesters.
Unlike the previous night, Cruz was at least welcomed to “The View” with applause.
“They gave you a better reception than the Yankees fans,” co-host Ana Navarro said.
This image released by ABC shows Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, center right, with co-hosts, from left, Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin during an appearance on the daytime talk show "The View" in New York on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. (Lou Rocco/)
Cruz smiled and shrugged as he settled between the five-woman panel for a discussion that would touch on everything from Jan. 6 to the Houston Astros four-game playoff sweep of the Yankees.
“That’s all right,” he responded. “I was pretty happy with the way the game ended up myself.”
The conversation was quickly interrupted when demonstrators began chanting “Cover climate now!”
One of the show’s hosts could be heard telling protesters that climate is a topic the show addresses, as moderator Whoopi Goldberg called for calm. It’s not clear if the outburst was aimed at “The View” or Cruz, a climate change denier who once famously stated that “The scientific evidence doesn’t support global warming.”
This image released by ABC shows Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas during an appearance on the daytime talk show "The View" in New York on Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. (Lou Rocco/)
A trio of protesters responsible for interrupting Cruz’s visit was reportedly removed from the studio.
There wasn’t much security guards could do in the Bronx Sunday night where the Republican leader was heckled by numerous fans who jeered and flipped their middle fingers in the 51-year-old conservative’s direction.
Cruz, sporting an orange shirt matching the Astros colors, smiled and waved amid a sea of blue Yankees caps and a chorus of insults.
“Racist piece of s--t,” one fan yelled as Cruz walked to his seat a few rows behind home plate.
Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, left, waves to spectators while attending Game 4 of an American League Championship baseball series between the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros, Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022, in New York. (John Minchillo/)
Cruz’s home team is loathed by Yankees fans, having knocked the Bronx Bombers out of the playoffs in four of the last eight years. Cruz himself became unpopular with New Yorkers in 2016 when he criticized “New York values” while campaigning against former New Yorker Donald Trump in the Republican primary.
In a Fox Business debate, Cruz said those values included being “socially liberal, or pro-abortion, or pro gay marriage” and motivated by money and media.
“Not a lot of conservatives come out of Manhattan,” he claimed.
Trump, who has fathered five children with three women and been accused of adultery on multiple occasions, disagreed, citing the city’s response to the terror attacks on 9/11 as testament to solid character.
“That was a very insulting statement that Ted made,” he replied to thunderous applause.
Cruz’s low blow at New Yorkers instantly made him persona non grata in these — and sparked an iconic Daily News front page featuring an image of Lady Liberty giving him the finger.
Ted Cruz at Yankee Stadium gets finger, booed, called racist piece of you know what and woman hater #RepBx #ALCS #MLB #Postseason pic.twitter.com/2aSpyTuwpP
— ☥ † The Rev. Mark Thompson, Host @MakeItPlain (@ministter) October 24, 2022
During that race, Trump frequently insulted Cruz — even taking cheap shots at the senator’s wife — on his way to vanquishing his Lone Star State challenger and winning the presidency. Cruz quickly aligned himself with the 45th president on key issues including crackdowns on immigration. His hard-line position on that subject inspired a heckler in a Bronx restaurant to confront the lawmaker in 2016.
@eitanthegoalie Ted Cruz walking through #Yankee Stadium was a beautiful moment for #NewYork #nyc #eitanthegoalie ♬ Original sound - Eitan Levine
“You’re running on an anti-immigrant platform, and you’re speaking in the Bronx,” New Yorker Rodrigo Venegas told Cruz. “You should not be here.”
On the front page of the New York Daily News on Jan. 15, 2016. (New York Daily News/)
That protester was cheered as he was removed from the eatery.
Cruz was born in Calgary, Canada, and moved to Houston as a child, where he was raised by his mother, who’s from Delaware, and his father — a Cuban migrant who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2005.
Lupica: There's just no 'value' to Ted Cruz and his criticism to ‘New York values'
Mayoral spokesman Fabien Levy also gave Cruz the proverbial middle-finger on Twitter after seeing a photo of Yankees fans shooting him the bird, all but assuring the senator it’ll happen again.
”Criticize our city and this is the proper welcome you get,” he tweeted. “It’s also the proper welcome for anyone named @tedcruz at any time.”
