Rep. Peter King (R-NY) has made no secret of his disdain for Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Ted Cruz (R-TX). Speaking to the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) at their presidential forum, King lambasted the senators and implied they aren’t “responsible adults.”

“[Rand Paul] is concerned about drones, he’s afraid the CIA might use drones to attack Americans drinking coffee in Starbucks,” King said, drawing a few laughs from the crowd. He suggested ISIS might be further emboldened to attack America if the commander-in-chief thinks the “real threat” is the CIA killing Americans with drones.

“Then we have Ted Cruz, who believed that … the government should be shut down a year and a half ago,” King said, referring to how Cruz read some Dr. Seuss tales on the Senate floor. “Again, do you really want a commander-in-chief who thinks the way to run the government is to read Dr. Seuss on the Senate floor and shut down the United States government?”

King went on to say America needs “responsible adults” who can recognize the threats the country faces. At one point in the speech, he also criticized those who voted against homeland security funding but say they stand with the military and law enforcement.

The forum hosted a wide array of potential 2016 presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle, including Cruz, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), former Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA), former New York Gov. George Pataki (R), former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) gave a pre-taped address.

Last year, King even suggested he would run for president just to prevent Cruz and Paul from having a strong influence on the Republican Party, and to make sure the “realistic foreign policy wing” or “national security wing” of the party “does not give in to the isolationists.”

Watch the video below (starts at around the 15:30 mark):

[h/t TPM]

[Image via screengrab]

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