Donald Trump won the sixth Republican presidential debate Thursday because he "just ate [Ted] Cruz's lunch" on the issue of New York values, political commentator Michael Reagan told
Newsmax TV.
"You know he was going to go to the Twin Towers," Reagan, the son of former President Ronald Reagan, told host J.D. Hayworth on the "Newsmax TV Post-Debate Special" in an interview. "Trump won that battle — and probably because of that, he won the night and won the debate.
"As soon as you go to people dying at the World Trade Center, you're going to get people on your team."
Watch Newsmax TV on
DirecTV Ch. 349, DISH Ch. 223 and
Verizon FiOS Ch. 115. Get Newsmax TV on your cable system —
Click Here Now
In ramping up his attacks on Trump in Iowa on Tuesday, Cruz said that the front-runner had "New York values" as he questioned his foreign policy credentials.
Cruz explained during the debate that he was referring to "socially liberal or pro-abortion or pro-gay marriage" attitudes reflected people who live in New York.
"Not a lot of conservatives come out of Manhattan," Cruz said, turning to Trump. "I'm just saying."
Trump retorted that famed conservative editor William F. Buckley was a New Yorker before detailing how the nation rallied behind New York after 9/11.
Though Reagan told Hayworth that he "was not a big Trump guy," he said that he thought the developer that "he probably did win the night."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.