Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz sure spends a lot of time in Manhattan for somebody who claims to oppose “New York values.”

The Texas senator, who’s already freaking out over his dwindling reelection chances, spent Tuesday and Wednesday meeting with a parade of potential billionaire donors in Washington D.C. and New York. Cruz’s whereabouts were only made public because an eagle-eyed Capitol Hill reporter found his briefing docs in the Senate Refinery.

The journalist, Pablo Manríquez, originally shared the documents on X, before they were deleted for containing personal phone numbers and addresses. On Thursday, Manríquez republished the docs on Substack, providing readers with a glance at how money in Washington really works.

While the docs don’t contain scandalous info, they provide an unfiltered view into the actions behind Cruz’s demagogic words. The antigay pol may demonize East Coast cities and the elite business class. Yet, he wines and dines with them at fancy steakhouses and social clubs located inside of supposed “enemy territory.”

On Tuesday evening, Cruz met with eight business moguls, who pledged a combined total of $19,500, at the Capital Grille in D.C. His briefing docs contained a bio of each person, and their business interests.

Cruz isn’t “draining the swamp,” as he’s promised supporters. He’s swimming in it!

It’s worth noting that two of the potential benefactors with whom Cruz met in NYC, former U.S. Ambassador John Loeb and Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz, supported Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Cruz’s shady financial dealings have already come into focus this election season, thanks to a sketchy arrangement between one of his Super PACS and iHeart Media, which carries his thrice-weekly podcast. It was recently discovered that iHeart has sent over hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Super PAC in question since March 2023.

Cruz, for his part, claims to host the show for free. Senators are prohibited from receiving gifts from registered lobbyists, such as iHeart.

Related*

In a fresh filing Thursday, the Super PAC, called Truth and Courage, reported receiving another $156,185.72 from iHeartMedia in May. That brings the total to $787,000 since March of last year.

In a totally non-defensive response, Cruz imploded when a TV reporter confronted him about the unusual arrangement.

“It really is sad what’s happened to the media,” he fumed.

When Manríquez approached Cruz Thursday about the leaked documents, the attention-seeking grandstander was much more circumspect.

“Just found Ted Cruz in the Senate parking lot where I asked him for comment on the fundraising documents I found. ‘Nah,’ he said, smiling, then drove away,” he posted.

It’s probably for the best that Cruz is ignoring the revelations about his NYC fundraising sojourns, because he looks like a complete hypocrite. When asked to clarify his infamous remark about “NYC values,” he went right in.

“I think most people know exactly what New York values are,” Cruz told reporters in 2016. “There are many, many wonderful, wonderful working men and women in the state of New York, but everyone understands that the values in New York City are socially liberal, are pro-abortion, are pro-gay marriage, focused around money and the media.” 

Notoriously one of the most unpopular senators in the country, Cruz spent his spring going on Fox News caterwauling about his general election race against Dallas-area rep. Colin Allred.

Related*

“My opponent Colin Allred, this left-winger, is being funded with millions of dollars from George Soros, from Chuck Schumer,” Cruz whined to Jesse Watters. “They’re flooding cash into Texas, because they went to take me out. But he doesn’t talk to reporters. He hides in his basement, I guess along with Joe Biden. He just spends money, and they think they can fool the American people.”

In a likely attempt to improve his image, Cruz’s campaign has dedicated resources towards highlighting his recent bipartisan efforts in the Senate. But it’s unclear how long Cruz can keep up that facade, too.

He’s spent the last few days derailing a bipartisan bill that would help low-income families secure high-speed internet. Old habits, such as legislative obstruction and shadiness, don’t just disappear with a couple of high-powered meetings.

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