DRAWING POLICE FIRE: Jon Stewart gets a tongue-in-cheek lecture from Commissioner Ray Kelly, reportedly a fan of the late-night gabber. (
)
Ray Kelly is as tough on talk-show hosts as he is on crime.
The city’s top cop — and rumored mayoral candidate — went toe to toe with Jon Stewart in Kelly’s first late-night appearance in front of a national TV audience.
The jovial commish traded barbs with Stewart throughout Tuesday’s “Daily Show” interview, which began with Stewart taunting the commissioner by sipping a soon-to-be outlawed sugar-laden Super Big Gulp.
“That’s against the law. I’ll give you just a warning this time,” Kelly joked, prompting audience laughter and applause.
During the 15-minute segment, Kelly touted the NYPD’s diverse culture while weighing in on several proposals by President Obama and Mayor Bloomberg to curb gun violence.
When asked about running for mayor, Kelly deflected the question by declining to discuss his plans and praising Bloomberg.
Kelly has said he’s not going to run for mayor — and those around him insist he hasn’t been angling for a key to Gracie Mansion.
But the commissioner didn’t directly rule it out when Stewart asked, “Are you thinking for yourself a little mayoral run? Is there anything in your heart that makes you . . .”
“I’m focused on this job,” Kelly quickly interjected.
“The mayor has done a phenomenal job. He has been so supportive of the police. The mayor’s concerned about saving lives with the Big Gulp, and [discouraging] smoking, and certainly as far as guns are concerned, he’s led the fight across this country.”
“So, yes? That’s a yes then?” Stewart insisted.
Kelly just chuckled.
A source close to Kelly said he went on the show because he’s a big fan of the Comedy Central host.
“The commissioner’s a huge Jon Stewart fan,” the source said. “Kelly TiVo’s Stewart in order not to miss it. It’s one of his favorite things to watch.”
The admiration appeared to go both ways, with Stewart praising Kelly’s success in driving down crime and calling the commissioner “a very impressive man.”
“You were in the military, you went to law school and I’m not going to arm-wrestle you because I heard about that,” Stewart said.
Kelly smoothly handled the stop-and-frisk issue, defending the program as a tactic used in “every law-enforcement jurisdiction in America.”
Kelly was also supportive of Obama’s efforts at gun control.