Decorum in the office of Staten Island Representative Michael Grimm has gone right out the window — or rather off the balcony. Responding to Councilman Vincent Gentile’s Facebook post yesterday praising Mayor Bill de Blasio for condemning protesters who assaulted police on the Brooklyn Bridge, Grimm aide Liam McCabe commented, “The Mayor is an asshole, Councilman. He deserves no applause.” While the comment has been deleted, McCabe apparently wants the world to know that he stands by his assessment. “I think he’s an asshole, plain and simple,” McCabe told the Observer.
In case that wasn’t clear, McCabe went on to repeat the term two more times in an Observer interview. “I honestly feel he’s an asshole just because he lost too many opportunities to bring this city together,” he said. “The mayor’s job is to be mayor of this entire city, not trying to keep certain factions happy. That’s my honest opinion,” he added. “The city is in disarray and he has an obligation and a duty to keep it together and failed at that … The best way I can articulate that is to call him an asshole.”
“Mr. McCabe’s remarks were disrespectful, out of line, and are absolutely not condoned by the Congressman,” said Grimm spokesman Nick Iacono. “The comments have been deleted, and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken.”
Maybe it isn’t fair to blame the congressman for his aide’s salty language. In its article on the matter, the Daily News refrains from condemning McCabe, because what can you say after running a cover that declares, “You’re an Ass, Mr. Mayor“?
