Ted Cruz issues a statement defending his meeting with several Manhattan gay men who support same-sex marriage.
Senator Ted Cruz attended a fundraiser in the Manhattan home owned by two prominent real estate developers Monday night, and the backlash from the right – and the left – forced the 2016 presidential candidate to issue a statement reaffirming his opposition to equality for the LGBT community.
Cruz spoke with Mati Weiderpass (photo) and Ian Reisner, two gay, white, rich, real estate developers who own Parkview Developers. Through Parkview, they own The OUT NYC, a Hell’s Kitchen hotel catering to gay men, which also is home to the XL gay bar and nightclub. The men also own dozens of properties in Manhattan, and about three-quarters of the commercial real estate on Fire Island, an historically gay retreat near the south shore of Long Island, New York.
The New York Times broke the news Thursday, forcing Cruz to issue a statement in which he touted his anti-gay bonafides but used the news of the meeting as an opportunity to try to make himself appear statesmanlike and presidential.
“I know it’s been a long time since we’ve seen it, but this is what it means to truly be a ‘big tent Republican’ instead of a panderer,”  Cruz said in his statement.
“I’m happy to go anywhere to anyone to champion conservative values,” the 44-year old Texas Republican claimed. “I’m hoping to offer enough bold leadership on a broad slate of issues that many voters will decide we agree on far more than we disagree.”
Cruz added, “when asked, I stated directly and unambiguously what everyone in the room already knew, that I oppose gay marriage and I support traditional marriage.”
Literally hours after issuing the statement, Sen. Cruz introduced two bills, including a constitutional amendment, to stop same-sex marriage.
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