Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz reiterated Friday that front-runner Donald Trump does have "New York values" and that "those aren't Iowa values."
"This is Donald speaking," the Texas senator told
Sean Hannity on Fox News, referring to the 1999 "Meet the Press" interview in which Trump cited his New York roots as key to his value system.
"He said that's what New Yorkers believe, and that's why I believe it," Cruz said. "Donald used that as an explanation for his own views.
"And you know what, he's right. Those aren't Iowa values," he added. "They're not South Carolina values. They're not even New Hampshire values."
He also praised the police and first responders during 9/11, which Trump cited in refuting Cruz's attack during Thursday's sixth GOP debate in South Carolina.
"We all honor and revere the first responders, the police officers and firemen who rushed into the Twin Towers," he told Hannity. "I have been standing and fighting for the cops and law enforcement and the incredible heroes every day of the campaign. Donald knows that."
Cruz said the back and forth on the issue at the debate "helped the voters continue making the decisions they're making right now, which really the most-important decision is who is best prepared to be commander-in-chief.
"More and more people are coming to the conclusion I'm best prepared to keep America safe."