Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) said Monday that everyday Americans are not interested in revisiting former President Bill Clinton’s scandals.
King was responding to a question about GOP presidential front runner Donald Trump, who has criticized Hillary and Bill Clinton over the former president’s private affairs.
“I don’t think the American people want to go there,” King told host Kristen Welker on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”
{mosads}“I think as a matter of strategy, it may work in the short term for Donald Trump because Hillary Clinton is going to be the Democratic nominee,” he said.
“As long as he’s fighting her, he’s not fighting with other Republicans and this will appeal to the Republican base. Overall, I don’t think this is going to be an effective strategy because, you know, the Clinton administration is behind this.”
King argued that Trump is missing an ample opportunity for damaging the Clintons by ignoring Bill Clinton’s tenure as president.
“There are legitimate criticisms you can make of Hillary Clinton and of Bill Clinton,” he said. “It should be done at that level.
“The Republican nominee versus Hillary Clinton, there’s enough issues that we disagree with Hillary Clinton to focus on that,” King continued.
“I think the more [Trump] talks about the side issues, the more it distracts people from the real issues. The side issues to me are not relevant.”
Trump escalated his feud with the Clintons earlier on Monday by accusing Bill Clinton of “a terrible record of women abuse.” Hillary Clinton previously charged the outspoken billionaire with obscuring his own “penchant for sexism” during an interview last week.
King expressed doubts on Monday over whether he would support Trump if he wins the GOP’s presidential nomination next year.
“It’s a question of how strong the support would be,” he said of backing the real estate tycoon.
“For instance, when he’s comparing the U.S. to Putin or there’s moral equivalency between Putin and the U.S. [or] where he says [Former President George W. Bush] knew about 9/11,” King continued. “That’s just like crazy talk. And, to me, a Republican conservative should not be endorsing those views.”