Some will say Anthony Weiner — whose final gesture to the press after his failed run for the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor was a middle finger salute — went out with a bang. Others will say that the doubly disgraced former member of the Congress went out with a whimper.
But according to Jill Colvin of The Observer, the world may not have seen the last of Carlos Danger:
Anthony Weiner, whose mayoral bid imploded following revelations that he’d continued sexting long after his resignation from Congress, was already plotting a Plan B more than six months before he lost his bid for Gracie Mansion, sources said.
Mr. Weiner began reaching out to agents who represent talent for television and radio as early as February of 2013 — months before he began to seriously test the waters on a return to public life with an April ‘New York Times Magazine’ story, according to individuals familiar with the conversations.
One agent he was said to have met is known for high-end placements on cable TV networks and represents many household names. According to an industry insider, Mr. Weiner wanted to gauge how a failed mayoral bid would impact his prospects of landing a lucrative TV or radio gig.
‘He was exploring his options and what they were at the time and what they may be should he run an unsuccessful campaign,’ the insider explained. ‘It just seemed that exploring his media options became a factor in running for mayor.’
Weiner would not be the first New York politician felled by a scandal to star in his own show. Eliot Spitzer (who also lost in his recent bid to return to politics as New York City’s next comptroller) hosted a show on CNN after he was forced to resign as the Empire State’s governor.
Weiner has made several appearances since his bruising primary loss, which could be seen as testing the waters. The industry source quoted by The Observer noted that MSNBC was a “natural” destination for Weiner, whose platform in his mayoral bid might have been called Obama-in-overdrive: As an example, he promised to provide New Yorkers with a single-payer health care system.
But Weiner would not confirm or deny plans to appear on TV or radio, telling Colvin via text message, “I’m not helping you with this story.” No word on whether the message included any photos.
