 -- Republican presidential candidate John Kasich ignited ridicule -- and a flood of media coverage -- when he used a fork to eat pizza in New York two weeks ago. But he hinted the move may have amounted to political calculation.

When asked by a Connecticut radio show last Friday if he employed the fork on purpose -- a major faux pas in the Big Apple -- so that he would "get a tremendous amount of media exposure," Kasich did not reject the suggestion. "You don't think I’m going to reveal that, do you?" he replied.

The hosts of the "Chaz & AJ in the Morning" show pushed him on his culinary decision, which the Ohio governor has joked about at nearly every New York campaign stop he has made since then. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is still mocked for doing the same at a New York pizzeria in 2014.

"We all saw how much that was a international story, that he comes to New York and he does it, too," one of the hosts said, referring to Kasich. "I’m like—kind of feels like, a good way to get press, boss."

"They say these people in Connecticut are awfully smart," Kasich replied. "You’re proving it here today."