The scene as Cruz speaks at NYC GOP Gala pic.twitter.com/Pwx8I0Ci25
— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) April 15, 2016
Presidential hopeful Ted Cruz
Ted CruzThe Hill's 12:30 Report Five things to watch for in GOP platform, rules meetings Report: '95 percent probability' of Pence as Trump VP MORE got the cold shoulder from a room of 800 Republicans at the New York City GOP gala Thursday night, receiving little interaction from the audience as he went through his usual stump speech.
“I haven’t built any buildings in New York City, but I have spent my entire life fighting to defend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights,” the Texas senator said, taking a shot at the GOP front-runner who, just moments before, spent the majority of his speech talking about his New York real estate successes.
Media at the scene reported guests walking around and talking during Cruz’s address.
Reaction at #nygop dinner to Cruz is embarrassing for both Cruz and the guests. Folks walking around, chatting w/ each other as he speaks.
— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) April 15, 2016
Cruz has had a tough time campaigning in New York, in part due to comments he made about “New York values” that some saw as disparaging toward the city.
Polls show the senator lagging substantially behind Trump, a native New Yorker. Trump leads Cruz by a staggering 36 points, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polls. Kasich takes, second with 22 percent support, compared to Trump’s 54 percent and Cruz’s 18 percent.
The gala comes before next week’s critical New York primary, where the three GOP candidates will compete for a share of the state’s 95 delegates.

