Earlier this week, Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz claimed that GOP frontrunner Donald Trump had “New York values” that weren’t consistent with the rest of America. The remark immediately was controversial, as Trump himself invoked the bravery of New Yorkers during and after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Others meanwhile suggested that Cruz’s comments had the unpleasant whiff of anti-Semitism (New York is home to the nation’s largest Jewish population and Jewish culture is often seen as synonymous with New York culture.)
But lost in the debate was the fact that Cruz’s single biggest donor is a hedge fund billionaire from…New York, the Intercept notes.
Robert Mercer, co-chief executive of Renaissance Technologies, has poured $11 million into Keep the Promise, a political action committee supporting Ted Cruz. The hedge fund has offices in Manhattan and East Setauket, a town on Long Island. (Mercer reportedly owns an estate in Head of the Harbor on Long Island.) It’s also worth noting that Cruz’s wife, Heidi, is on leave from her job as managing director at Goldman Sachs, an investment bank closely associated with New York money.
In last night’s debate, Cruz said that while there are many good people in New York, “everyone understands that the values in New York City are socially liberal or pro-abortion or pro- gay-marriage, focus on money and the media. “