On Tuesday, mayoral hopeful Anthony Weiner was exposed by online gossip magazine, The Dirty, for engaging in an explicit text message exchange with a 22-year-old woman. The revelation came more than two years after the former New York lawmaker resigned from Congress for similar behavior.
Shortly after The Dirty story broke, Weiner released a statement confirming, at least in part, its authenticity: “I said that other texts and photos were likely to come out, and today they have…While some things that have been posted today are true and some are not, there is no question that what I did was wrong.” The aspiring mayor echoed the same points when he addressed reporters at a press conference later in the day.
In an unexpected turn, Weiner’s wife, Huma Abedin, took to the microphone and solidified her commitment to the campaign and her husband: “I have forgiven him,” and “I believe in him.”
On Tuesday’s All In, host Chris Hayes said he was surprised by Abedin’s remarks. “Somehow, Huma Abedin convinced me that this was not the spectacle I thought it was,” Hayes said, adding that she “revolutionized the way I had understood this entire thing unfolding before my eyes.” If a sex scandal of this scale could be made unremarkable, the question becomes, how?
Journalist, Rebecca Traister told All In “I was none too pleased to see her standing there when I turned into the press conference. Like, oh god, no I do not need to have the wife walk. But her statement was persuasive…I believe her. She loves this guy. They are going to move forward together.”
It is unclear whether Abedin’s remarks will influence the outcome of her husband’s campaign, but her choice to speak has certainly made an impression.
