Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump to the contrary, Junior Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has done quite enough to distinguish his campaign for the GOP nomination with a flurry of oh-so-interesting headlines. From clearing up the air about his supposed “dildo ban” as the state’s Solicitor General, to his amorous feelings for large quantities of Campbell’s Chunky Soup, the would-be president has been a gift to the media. Yet anyone uncomfortable with the possible Zodiac killer‘s presence in their news feed should take heart, because one his strongest detractors just joked about committing suicide (for the second time) if Cruz were to win his party’s nomination in July.
Pete King, a Republican representative from New York’s second congressional district (i.e. Trump country in Long Island’s South Shore), spoke with Morning Joe co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski about the New York state primary and this summer’s party convention on Tuesday. Guest Willie Geist opened the exchange with a quote from King about Cruz, in which the congressman argued that anyone who voted for the Texas senator should have their “head examined.” Meanwhile, the rest of the Morning Joe staff joked with King about his distaste for Cruz and Trump alike. His response?
“In case anybody gets confused, I am not endorsing Ted Cruz. I hate Ted Cruz. I think I’ll take cyanide if he ever got the nomination.”
The show hosts and guests laughed throughout King’s response, though his reference to committing suicide drew exclamations from Brzezinski and Geist. Meanwhile, Scarborough smiled throughout the exchange, and Meet the Press host Chuck Todd pressed King further about why he wasn’t supporting Cruz and Trump, and had voted for John Kasich in his state’s primary.
The congressman clarified that his vote wasn’t an endorsement for the Ohio governor, per se, and that he thought Trump would be the GOP’s eventual nominee. However, aside from the immediate reaction, no one on the panel confronted King for his joke-of-the-day about poisoning himself.
(Via Talking Points Memo)