Donald Trump said that he found Ted Cruz's comment “very insulting." | Getty Cruz on 'New York values': Sorry not sorry

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Ted Cruz on Friday apologized to those who took offense to his “New York values” comment as a pejorative statement this week — sort of.

Republican poll leader Donald Trump and a contingent of New York Democrats, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio and former Sen. Hillary Clinton, all slammed Cruz’s remarks, which he expanded on at Thursday’s Republican debate.


“It’s been an interesting 24 hours where [they] have all demanded an apology because apparently they’re unhappy about acknowledging that they have embraced New York values. And so I’ve heard their demands, and I am happy to give them an apology,” the Texas senator told "The Sean Hannity Show" on Friday before unloading on New York Democrats.

“I apologize to the millions of New Yorkers who have been abandoned by liberal politicians,” Cruz said. “I apologize for the working men and women of New York who are denied jobs — jobs that have been plentiful just south of Pennsylvania — because Gov. Cuomo bans fracking. I apologize to all the pro-life, pro-marriage, pro-Second Amendment New Yorkers who Gov. Cuomo brazenly told have no place in the state of New York because that’s not who New Yorkers are.”

Speaking to a separate group of reporters, he offered the same "apology" to New Yorkers, including he same hits on liberal policies and rhetoric like "crushing taxes and regulation" to anti-fracking policy, and more.

“I apologize to all of the African American children who Mayor de Blasio tried to throw out of their charter schools that were providing a life line to the American dream,” he said. “And I apologize to all the cops and firefighters and 9/11 heroes who had no choice but to stand and turn their backs on Mayor de Blasio because Mayor de Blasio over and over again stands with the looters and criminals rather than the brave men and women of blue.”

He went on to pledge that “help is on the way,” even for New Yorkers, in the upcoming election, suggesting that he would reverse policies that “don’t help the working men and women of this country but instead further the elite liberal views that have taken this country down a path that is not working.”

Cruz earlier this week said Trump embodied New York values, explaining in the debate that “everyone understands that the values in New York City are socially liberal or pro-abortion or pro- gay-marriage, focus around money and the media.”

In short: “Not a lot of conservatives come out of Manhattan,” he concluded. “I'm just saying.”

Trump fired back at the debate, invoking 9/11 and remarking that he found that comment “very insulting."