Ed Koch Agrees to Join Pete King Administration

PolitickerNY
By Reid Pillifant
May 20, 2011

Congressman Peter King’s office reached out to spread the word about a new addition to the congressman’s future presidential administration.

At the ceremony to celebrate the re-naming of the Queensboro Bridge last night, former mayor Ed Koch greeted King with calls of “Hey, Mr. President!” and pledged his vote in 2012.

King was floated as a presidential candidate by Nassau Republican Chairman Joe Mondello earlier this week, and last night, a reporter asked if he was finally ready to officially announce his bid.

“I said, ‘I’ll run for president if Ed Koch agrees to serve in my administration,’” King told me. “And Koch came running over, ‘I’ll serve! I’ll serve!’”

Koch–an 86-year-old former three-term Democratic mayor from New York City, who famously killed his gubernatorial campaign by trash-talking the quality of upstate New York’s food during an interview with Playboy–is obviously key for King’s G.O.P. nomination.

While the actual Republican field struggles to capture the public imagination, the Long Island congressman seems to be having fun with all the attention Mondello brought his way. King–who built something of a national profile with his controversial hearings on Muslim radicalization earlier this year–said he’s received lots of supportive letters and emails.