Anthony Weiner got into an argument with a Jewish voter today at a bakery in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn.
A man began the confrontation with Weiner by calling the disgraced former congressman and Democratic candidate for New York City mayor a “scumbag.”
“[It] takes one to know one,” Weiner said through a mouthful of food.
It escalated from there with the man telling Weiner that he was disgusting for having the nerve to walk about in public. Weiner challenged the man, asking “What rabbi taught you that you’re my judge?”
“You’re fine,” the man answered. “You talk to God and work out your problems, but stay out of the public eye.”
The heated exchange carried on for about two minutes with the man telling Weiner his behavior was “deviant” and urging him to disappear from public life. Weiner said the man falsely thought himself superior.
Weiner later defended his reaction on Twitter, saying that he “stood up to a heckler.”
“Yep. Did that. That’s what Mayors have to do sometimes,” he Tweeted, and later said that the man “waited til I took a bite of honey cake to take a run at me.”
The confrontation took place on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and in an orthodox Jewish neighborhood.
UPDATE: The Weiner campaign released more footage of the incident. After the man calls Weiner a “scumbag,” Weiner attempts to disengage and walk away while the man declares that Weiner is “married to an Arab.” The argument continues from there as it was seen in the earlier video.
Weiner’s wife, Huma Abedin, is the daughter of an Indian father and Pakistani mother.