NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says there is “some irony” in Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor’s surprising loss to a Tea Party challenger.

The Democratic mayor had trouble suppressing a smile when asked his thoughts on Cantor following an unrelated event in Brooklyn on Wednesday.

He said that Cantor “helped create” the conservative Tea Party movement and helped “paralyze” the federal government.

But de Blasio also said that Cantor’s defeat was a “cautionary tale.” The mayor, an unabashed liberal, said he feared the Republican Party would now become more conservative.

Cantor visited New York last month to oppose de Blasio’s charter school policies.

Cantor was defeated Tuesday by little-known Tea Party member Dave Brat.

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