Weiner Weighs In: Gender Bias in Political Scandals
Former U.S.Representative Anthony Weiner, embroiled in his own series of scandals, has offered his outlook on why some politicians, including himself and Donald trump, are able to weather controversies while prominent women like Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton face greater electoral challenges.
The View From the View
Weiner made his remarks during an appearance on ABC’s The View. He is currently campaigning for a New York City council seat. This bid for public office comes after his career was derailed by a sexting scandal. Some observers believe this scandal indirectly aided Donald Trump’s ascent to the presidency in 2016.
Did you know? anthony Weiner served 13 years in the U.S. House of Representatives,representing New York,before his resignation in 2011 due to a sexting scandal.
his appearance largely revolved around addressing the scandals that led to his dramatic fall from grace in U.S. politics. Weiner reiterated that he is in recovery
after serving 18 months in prison for sexually messaging a teenaged girl.
Scandals and Setbacks
Weiner’s troubles began in 2011, when a sexting scandal forced him to resign from the U.S. House after representing new yorkers for 13 years. In 2013, his campaign for New York City mayor was derailed by another scandal involving sexual texts sent under the alias “Carlos Danger.”
Pro Tip: Political candidates ofen undergo rigorous vetting processes to uncover potential scandals before they become public. However, some issues remain hidden until they surface unexpectedly.
In 2016,as Hillary Clinton campaigned for president against Donald Trump,with Weiner’s then-wife Huma Abedin playing a key role in her campaign,federal authorities launched a criminal investigation into Weiner’s exchange of explicit photos with a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina.This investigation led to the finding of emails on Weiner’s laptop, prompting a renewed examination of Clinton’s private email server.
Although the investigation found no incriminating evidence against Clinton, many Democrats believe the negative media coverage surrounding the email server contributed to her loss to Trump in the electoral college, despite winning the popular vote.
The Shifting Sands of Political Fortunes
Donald Trump, after losing the 2020 presidential race to Joe Biden, successfully reclaimed the Oval Office in 2024 against Vice President Kamala Harris. This victory came despite Trump’s conviction for criminally falsifying business records related to payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels and being found civilly liable for sexually abusing former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll.
Reader Question: How do scandals impact voter turnout and candidate support in modern elections?
These circumstances led The View co-host joy Behar to suggest to Weiner that men in politics seem to be held to a different standard than qualified women.
She cited figures like Bill Clinton, Eliot Spitzer, and Andrew Cuomo, who also faced notorious sex-related scandals.
Weiner’s Rebuttal and Reflection
Weiner countered that he, Clinton, Spitzer, and Cuomo all pay a price
to some extent. He noted that Bill Clinton was impeached during his second term, while spitzer and Cuomo both resigned from the New York governorship.
I mean, I hate to correct you. The question is … how do you judge their record in totality?
Anthony weiner
Despite this, weiner conceded:
I do believe that women get judged much more harshly than men do. I do believe that.
Anthony Weiner
Upcoming elections
The Democratic primary election for the New York City council seat Weiner is seeking is scheduled for June 24. Andrew Cuomo is also slated to run in the Democratic primary for mayor on the same day.The general election for both races will take place on November 4.
