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Rep. Pete King: ‘I hate Ted Cruz’

by Jesse Byrnes - 04/19/16 9:53 AM ET

New York Rep. Pete King (R) on Tuesday offered his harshest words yet for Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, slamming the Texas senator on the day of his state’s primary.

“Well, first of all, in case anybody gets confused, I’m not endorsing Ted Cruz, I hate Ted Cruz, and I think I’ll take cyanide if he ever got the nomination,” King said to open his appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” prompting a mixture of laughs and mild exclamations from co-hosts.

{mosads}The Republican has previously said that he’d “never” vote for Cruz and that New Yorkers considering it “should have their head examined.”

“I think you are going to see Donald Trump scoring a big victory tonight,” King predicted Tuesday. “I have not endorsed Donald Trump. In fact, I actually voted by absentee ballot for John Kasich. I’m not endorsing John, but I voted for him to really send a message.”

MSNBC host Chuck Todd pressed the lawmaker about his hedging on endorsing a candidate, asking, “What is the fear, what is your fear? Why won’t you endorse John Kasich?”

“It’s not a fear. I endorsed Marco Rubio, and he lost, and I stopped,” King said. “If I thought that John Kasich had a viable chance, I’d come out and endorse him.”

King acknowledged the GOP race may move toward a contested convention in July but said that the “likelihood” was Trump would secure the nomination, suggesting Kasich “would be a good choice for vice president.”

Tags 2016 GOP primary Donald Trump Marco Rubio New York Ted Cruz