Peter King: ‘I’ll Take Cyanide If Ted Cruz Gets The Nomination’


New York Congressman Peter King has threatened to take a cyanide pill if Ted Cruz secures the GOP nomination this summer.

Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe Tuesday, King made his dislike for Cruz crystal clear and added that he expected Donald Trump to “win big” in Tuesday’s New York primary.

“I hate Ted Cruz, and I think I’ll take cyanide if he ever got the nomination,” King said. “Now, having said that, I think you’re going to see Donald Trump scoring a big victory tonight. I have not endorsed Donald Trump. In fact, I actually voted by absentee ballot for John Kasich.”

This isn’t the first time King has outright declared hatred for the Texas senator.

Earlier this month, King argued that any New Yorker willing to vote for Cruz “should have their head examined”.

“Look, I hope he gets the cold shoulder and other things from every New Yorker. Send him back where he belongs,” King said on The Joe Piscopo Show on AM 970 The Answer. “I just can’t stand that guy.”

Ted Cruz in New York
Peter King has repeatedly attacked Texas Senator Ted Cruz. [Photo by Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images]

Responding to an attack Cruz had made on the merit of Donald Trump’s so-called “New York values” in January, King also told CNN in January that Ted Cruz should “go back under a rock.”

“Memo to Ted Cruz,” he said in a statement. “New York Values are the heroes of 9/11; the cops who fight terror; and the people you ask for campaign donations. Go back under a rock.”

King had originally endorsed the presidential bid of Florida Senator Marco Rubio. In a passionate statement issued in February, King said that Rubio represented the “inspiration, judgment and vision” that would be needed in order to win the White House in November.

Rubio dropped out of the presidential race in March after a series of poor performances in various state primaries.

Yet despite declaring his support for Governor Kasich to MSNBC on Monday, King went on to admit that Kasich did not have a “viable chance” of clinching the GOP nomination. For that reason, the Long Island congressman said he would not be offering a formal endorsement to anybody.

“To come out and endorse someone means that you think right now they have a realistic chance of winning,” King said. “I don’t think John does.”

Peter King
King is predicting a ‘big win’ for Donald Trump in New York on Tuesday. [Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]

Instead, King told MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough that Donald Trump would enjoy a relatively smooth victory in New York and go on to secure the Republican ticket this summer.

“I think Trump is going to win big,” he said. “I know on Long Island, you go through every part of Long Island I’ve been to, people come up to you — they’re talking about Donald Trump.”

That being said, King also threatened that Trump could end up tumbling in the general election unless he injects a bit “more substance” into his campaign.

“I think he’s a real possibility, but I also — the likelihood is Donald Trump is going to get the nomination,” King said. “I want Donald Trump to know that if he wants the support of Republicans, he’s gotta get more substance. He’s gotta really learn what he’s talking about and can’t just be talking off the top of his head and making reckless charges.”

At present, analysts seem to agree with Peter King’s predictions for Tuesday’s GOP primary in New York. According to RealClearPolitics, real estate mogul Donald Trump is currently polling at 53.1 percent, versus John Kasich’s 22.8 percent. Cruz is sitting in third place at just 18.1 percent.

[Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images]

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