Peter King Ill Take Cyanide if Cruz Wins Video

Washington, D.C. —

Rep. Peter King did not hold back when asked about Sen. Ted Cruz and the 2016 race. In a video posted online on March 7, the New York Republican said he would take cyanide if Cruz won the nomination. The remark came just days after Cruz launched his presidential bid, and it quickly drew attention for its bluntness.

King has long positioned himself as a more traditional conservative, often at odds with the tea party wing of the party. He has criticized Cruz before, particularly over issues like the government shutdown fights, but this comment marked a sharper turn. The video showed the congressman speaking in a casual but firm tone, leaving little doubt about his feelings toward a potential Cruz candidacy.

The line itself was short and direct, the kind of thing that spreads fast on social media. King did not walk it back in the clip, and he appeared to treat the hypothetical as something worth stating outright. For a sitting member of Congress, that kind of language stood out even in an era when intra-party fights had grown louder.

Other Republicans mostly steered clear of the remark in public. Some aides privately noted that King had a history of saying what others were thinking but preferred not to voice on camera. Cruz’s campaign did not immediately respond, focusing instead on the early fundraising and travel that followed the senator’s announcement.

By the end of the day the clip had already made the rounds on cable news and political blogs. King’s willingness to go that far on record underscored how much tension already existed inside the GOP heading into the primaries.