Posted on May 17, 2014

Peter King: I'm Thinking Of Running For President To Stop Rand Paul and Ted Cruz

WOLF BLITZER: We're out of time, but one quick political question. Are you thinking of running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016?



REP. PETER KING (R-NY): I'm certainly looking at it. I'll be back in New Hampshire on June 21st. And when I saw Hillary Clinton yesterday, I told her to get ready.



BLITZER: Get ready. You think it's possible you could win that Republican nomination, she would get the Democratic nomination -



KING: Oh, I don't know -



BLITZER: And I would be moderating debates presumably between you and Hillary Clinton, is that what you're saying?



KING: It would be a good show, it really would. No, seriously, I'm - I mean I - I'm looking at this because I see people like Rand Paul and Ted Cruz and, to me, I don't want the Republican Party going in that direction. Whether it's me or someone else, I want to do all that I can to make sure that what I call the realistic foreign policy wing and national security wing of the Republican Party does not give into the isolationists. And I don't want to go back to the 1930s and the days of Charles Lindbergh.



BLITZER: Strong words from Peter King. All right, so you're seriously considering it. We'll see what happens. And if you do get the Republican nomination, Hillary Clinton gets the Democratic nomination, I'm ready to volunteer to moderate a debate between the two of you.



KING: Hey, Wolf, you got it.



BLITZER: Let's see if that happens.



KING: Thank you.