De Blasio, Bratton spar with Cruz over call to monitor Muslims

Mayor de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Bratton were engaged in a war of words with Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz after the candidate called for heavier police monitoring in Muslim communities.

In the wake of the Brussels bombings, Sen. Cruz said law enforcement needed more empowerment to “patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized,” and he criticized Mayor de Blasio for ending a controversial program called the Demographics Unit that allegedly increased surveillance of Muslim Americans, CBS2 reported.

Describing his idea for monitoring of Muslims, Cruz was quoted by CBS2 saying that “you would reinstate the program that mayor de Blasio cancelled because political correctness was more important to him than protecting our safety.”

Both de Blasio and Bratton rebutted the senator’s criticism, with Commissioner Bratton saying that Cruz’s comments showed why he would never win the presidential election, the New York Daily News reported.

“We don’t need a president that doesn’t respect the values that form the foundation of this country,” Bratton was quoted in a related Politico article.

“I just have to say it’s reprehensible. His comments are not about safety and security. It’s demagoguery,” de Blasio was quoted by CBS2.

In New York, Cruz has promised to fight Donald Trump to win the Republican primary in his rival’s home state, according to CBS, which added that Trump has said that he supported Cruz’s strategy for monitoring Muslims.