WATCH: Anthony Weiner gets into a shouting match [Updated]
It seemed like things couldn't get worse for the New York mayoral candidate. Then, they did.
Anthony Weiner, once a front-runner in New York City's mayoral race, has plummeted to single digits in the polls since his latest sexting scandal broke. The revelation that he had sent his racy messages under the name "Carlos Danger" made him the butt of endless late-night jokes, which only got bawdier once his former sexting partner, Sydney Leathers, made a porn tape.
While few thought that the disgraced former congressman's troubles could get worse, they apparently can.
Cue Weiner, his mouth stuffed with honey cake, walking out of a Brooklyn bakery as a voter called him a "scumbag." While video cameras rolled, Weiner spun around and got into a heated shouting match with the man.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Charming. Takes one to know one, jackass," he said. The man shot back that Weiner was "deviant," and told him to "go home and get a job." The beleaguered Democrat replied, "I fought very hard for this community and delivered more than you ever will in your entire life."
The noisy clash, says Sean Sullivan at The Washington Post, might have been the moment when Weiner finally hit rock bottom. "Here's a simple rule of politics: If you are arguing with voters, you are losing. Big time," Sullivan says.
Weiner tried to spin the encounter into a sign that he has the toughness politicians need to stand up to hecklers. "That's what mayors have to do sometimes," he tweeted.
Journalists, however, saw the meltdown as a sign that Weiner had finally concluded that his campaign was finished, so it was safe to say what he really thinks — consequences be damned.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
And the day had started so well, too. Weiner fulfilled what he called a "lifelong dream" by doing the weather report on a local TV station (see the video below). Annie Karni at the New York Daily News suggests that the appearance indicated that Weiner, "seemingly out of the running in the election," was becoming a "more freewheeling presence" around town.
If the Democratic primary election goes as predicted on Tuesday, maybe he's got a future on TV?
UPDATE: A longer version of the video appears to show Weiner's adversary muttering, "Married to an Arab," before the two men started going at it. (Skip to the 3:53 mark.)
Untitled from Anthony Weiner on Vimeo.
Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
-
'Underneath the noise, however, there’s an existential crisis'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
2024: the year of distrust in science
In the Spotlight Science and politics do not seem to mix
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
The Nutcracker: English National Ballet's reboot restores 'festive sparkle'
The Week Recommends Long-overdue revamp of Tchaikovsky's ballet is 'fun, cohesive and astoundingly pretty'
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
US election: who the billionaires are backing
The Explainer More have endorsed Kamala Harris than Donald Trump, but among the 'ultra-rich' the split is more even
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
1 of 6 'Trump Train' drivers liable in Biden bus blockade
Speed Read Only one of the accused was found liable in the case concerning the deliberate slowing of a 2020 Biden campaign bus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published