ABC decided to spend the final hours of the New York primary by continuing to hammer Senator Ted Cruz with his “New York Values” comment. “Far from the empire state today, Senator Ted Cruz, whose attack on New York values worked with Iowans, but tanked with New Yorkers,” stated Tom Llamas Tuesday evening just hours before New York primary polls closed.
ABC has not been shy about their disdain for the presidential candidate, taking time to ambush him with dissenters while appearing on the Good Morning America. ABC continued to aide Donald Trump by grilling Cruz with two powerful sound bites from the GOP frontrunner. “New York values, like we're no good. Like we're no good,” Trump said at a campaign rally. Llamas' report even featured a New York voter speaking negatively about the senator, but not one in his favor.
The second sound bite came as an answer to a loaded question posed by Llamas to Trump in a media scrum. “Should Cruz drop out? Should Cruz dropout if it's a landslide,” Llamas enthusiastically shouted. To which Trump replied, “Yeah, I would say so. But that's up to him. But I would certainly say so.”
In contrast, CBS and NBC decided to spotlight the horse racing going on the Republican side. and focus on the delegate battle raging between the two. Both noted the importance of New York to both the Trump and Cruz campaigns. They also spent considerable time discussing the Trump campaign shake up, where we see Trump hiring more campaign insiders to help him stay competitive as the convention approaches.
Transcript below:
ABC
World News Tonight with David Muir
April 19, 2016
6:32:40 PM Eastern [55 Seconds]TOM LLAMAS: Far from the empire state today, Senator Ted Cruz, whose attack on New York values worked with Iowans, but tanked with New Yorkers.
BERNIE GOULD: It's just the demeanor that came across with him. It’s almost anti-New Yorkish.
LLAMAS: A theme Trump has hammered for weeks.
DONALD TRUMP: New York values, like we're no good. Like we're no good.
LLAMAS: But last night, Trump stumbled when invoking the bravery of first responders on 9/11.
TRUMP: And I watch our police and our firemen down on 7/11, down at the World Trade Center, right after it came down and I saw the greatest people I have ever seen in action.
LLAMAS: Still, Trump now telling me a big Cruz loss in New York should send a message.
Should Cruz drop out? Should Cruz dropout if it's a landslide?
TRUMP: Yeah, I would say so. But that's up to him. But I would certainly say so.
LLAMAS: Trump now hoping a big win in his hometown is the remedy he needs to shake off what's been a rough couple of weeks for his campaign.
