NEW HAVEN, Conn. — New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker is defending the Elm City in a tweet after Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz referred to New Haven in a reaction post to a comment Gov. Ned Lamont made this week.
This comes as Lamont is backtracking on his comment on calling the city of Houston, Texas, "butt ugly" during a radio interview regarding the UConn men's basketball championship win; the game took place at NRG Stadium in Houston against San Diego State.
Cruz defended Houston in a tweet that seemed to have a hint of sarcasm.
"The gov of Connecticut - a commuter suburb of NYC that features lovely & safe towns like New Haven - found Houston not up to his aesthetic standard," part of Cruz's tweet from Wednesday said.
Elicker thanked Cruz Thursday for the "warm comments about New Haven," saying, "It's not Cancun, but it's lovely, safe & and lots of good jobs too!"
The mention of Cancun refers to Cruz's trip to Mexico during a deadly winter storm in Texas in February 2021. His trip was cut short after getting backlash from people who saw the trip as an excuse to escape inclement weather and leave Texans in the unfamiliar cold.
New Haven has been combating violent crime in the city and the stigma that it holds. In a report from January, the police department said overall crime went down in 2022 in comparison to 2021.
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