Appearing decidedly less chill than he was during a television appearance this morning, Anthony “Who Cares” Weiner, mouth full of sweets, stormed back into a Brooklyn bakery today to confront a voter who called him a “scumbag” on his way out. “Charming. Takes one to know one, jackass,” said a heated Weiner, channeling Chris Christie and then some. “What’s that? What’s that? You wait till I walk out to say anything.” Reporter Jacob Kornbluh got the tense interaction on tape, and Weiner could not care less.
Update: The Weiner campaign has shared an extended version of the exchange, in which the voter can be heard saying Weiner is “married to an Arab” after calling him a “scumbag.” That’s when Weiner went off.
“You’re my judge? What rabbi taught you that?” said Weiner, as we approach Rosh Hashanah. “You know who judges me? Go visit with your rabbi. You are not my God.”
“What you did is deviant behavior,” said the man, not really getting much of a word in. “I fought very hard for this community and delivered more than you ever will in your entire life,” said Weiner, resting his passionate case. “Take care, buddy. Nice talking to you.” Sticking with his budding Bulworth persona, Weiner took to Twitter for the first time in a week to defend his reaction:
“You’re allowed to say stuff to me, but if you’re going to say vile things about me and my family you should expect that I’m going to go back at you,” Weiner told reporters later this afternoon. “When you start saying vile and racist things about my wife … I think he deserved to be put in his place.”
“In the spirit of the New Year,” Weiner added, “I forgive him.”
Happy New Year and happy 49th birthday, Anthony. Six more days.
This post has been updated throughout.
