Irish American Congressman Peter King has slammed supporters of fellow Republican Senator Ted Cruz who have been calling his office with hostile messages after he had been critical of Cruz’s stance on shutting down the government. King, a potential presidential candidate himself, is Co-Chair of the Ad Hoc Friends of Ireland in Congress.

“The vehemence of the phone calls coming into the office. I don’t care, people can call me whatever they want … I haven’t heard such vile, profane, obscene language,” King said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Thursday.

“I’m not saying Ted Cruz is responsible for all his supporters, but he has tapped into a dark strain here in the American political psyche here, and again, the most obscene, profane stuff you can imagine all from people who say they support the Constitution,” King said.

 “I think what we have to do is reach out to his people and let them know that they’re following a false leader here.”