Weiner doubts he’ll ever run for office again
Former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) joined NewsNation Wednesday, where he spoke about various political scandals — including his own — and said he doubts he’d ever run again.
Weiner resigned from Congress in 2011 after admitting he had been sending lewd photos to women online, and he made an unsuccessful bid for mayor of New York City two years later. He later served 21 months in prison after pleading guilty in 2017 to transferring obscene material to a minor.
Weiner argued on “Dan Abrams Live” that Americans are still willing to give politicians second chances amid scandals.
“I think fundamentally still Americans are forgiving people,” he said.
Weiner said he believes there are “certain consistent themes” that people must follow in order to be accepted again, including the “complete acceptance of responsibility” and the ability to show that a real lesson has been learned.
The former lawmaker highlighted several other controversies: former President Trump, former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and Hunter Biden.
He said in today’s technological world, there is a “build up and tear down cycle” that is “much faster than it used to be.”
“All it takes is a relatively minor mistake or relatively small collection of facts that someone learns about your private life for you to get buried,” Weiner said.
Dan Abrams asked Weiner if the American people had forgiven him and if he was going to run again for office.
“I’m apparently so forgiven I can even appear on ‘Dan Abrams Live’,” he said, later adding that he doubts he’d run again.
“I had my moment. I basically did the equivalent playing shortstop for the New York Yankees,” Weiner continued. “I was a member of Congress, a middle-class guy with a job that was in the Constitution. I have no complaints; I’ve got many blessings in my present life.”
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