Eliot Spitzer had no alternative but to resign as New York governor after it was reported he was involved in soliciting prostitution, former New York City Mayor Ed Koch says.

"It's a Greek tragedy," Koch tells Scott Simon.

"I'm a friend of the governor's, but I can understand the anger at him because of the hypocrisy involved," Koch says, referring to Spitzer's crime-fighting reputation. "He was perceived to be a bully in Albany, so when you have a bully, as I say, hoisted by his own petard, everybody stands in line to kick him down the ladder."

Koch says he hopes Spitzer won't be prosecuted, if it turns out that the soon-to-be former governor used his own money to pay for prostitution.

Koch also speaks about the Democratic presidential race and his new book, The Koch Papers: My Fight Against Anti-Semitism.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.