Donald Trump hit Ted Cruz where it hurt during a rally on Long Island Wednesday night, by invoking his previous disparaging comment about “New York values.”
“Do you remember during the debate when he started lecturing me on New York values, like we’re no good?” Trump asked his enthusiastic, 10,000 person crowd in Bethpage, N.Y. “And I started talking to him about the World Trade Center and the bravery, the incredible bravery of everybody… We all lived through it. We all know people who died. And I got this guy standing over there, looking at me, talking about New York values with scorn on his face, with hatred of New York.”
“So folks,” Trump said, “I think you can forget about him.”
The crowd in Bethpage immediately burst into a chant of “Lyin’ Ted, Lyin’ Ted.”
Read Next: Ted Cruz Embraces Economic Populism in Interview with TIME
At a debate in January, Texas Sen. Cruz criticized Trump for having “New York values,” which he defined as “socially liberal or pro-abortion or pro- gay-marriage, [and] focus around money and the media.” Cruz later doubled down on the attack in an ad that repeated the “New York values” line.
Trump will likely continue to use this comment to his advantage leading up to New York’s primary on April 19.
At Wednesday’s rally, Trump, who is originally from New York and still lives there, played up his affinity for his home state. He began the event by saying, “It’s great to be home. This is home.” He spread his arms to the crowd and said, “These are my people.”
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