Anthony Weiner Heckler Insulted Pol’s ‘Arab Wife,’ Caused Him To Snap [Video]
Controversy has erupted yet again around Carlos Danger. New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner was caught on tape snapping on a voter in a kosher deli in Brooklyn on Wednesday, but as with all “sting” video pieces, the truth really depends on which version of the tape you have.
The initial story held that Weiner doubled-back on his way out of the deli to confront a man who was in line behind him. In the video, Weiner appears quite incensed. His sparring partner, later identified as real estate developer Saul Kessler, was much more measured during the confrontation.
“Yeah, takes one to know one, jackass. Very nice, very nice, in front of kids. That’s a charming guy right there,” Weiner said.
“You are disgusting, disgusting,” Kessler replied, advising Weiner to drop out of the race and shaming him for his betrayal of wife, Huma Abedin.
“What’s that? What’s that?” Weiner blurted. “You wait until I walk out to say anything? That’s courage! That’s courage!”
“What rabbi taught you that you’re my judge?” Weiner continued.
It certainly appeared to be yet another meltdown of epic proportions, but then the Weiner campaign released the “director’s cut” of the tape. Nearly four minutes into the Weiner campaign version, Kessler is clearly seen and heard saying, “You’re a scumbag,” to Weiner as he walks out the door, later muttering, “Married to an Arab.”
Weiner seems to let is go at first, merely saying that Kessler is a “charming guy.” Kessler continues his attack, and then the confrontation turns into the version everyone saw yesterday.
Talking Points Memo and other left-leaning blogs published the tape, and many observers accused Kessler of bigotry.
Weiner’s campaign also released an email with his side of the story: “The man made repeated personal attacks against Anthony and his family and after several minutes, Anthony stood up for himself.”
Weiner himself took to Twitter to defend himself:
.@RossBarkan if by melt down you mean stood up to a heckler. Yep. Did that. That’s what Mayors have to do sometimes.
— Anthony Weiner (@anthonyweiner) September 4, 2013
.@moneyries in defense of me, the guy waited til I took a bite of honey cake to take a run at me.
— Anthony Weiner (@anthonyweiner) September 4, 2013
You can check out the Anthony Weiner campaign version of his Brooklyn confrontation below:
