Anthony Weiner’s interview on BuzzFeed Brews Monday night served mainly to stir speculation about Huma Abedin’s political trajectory—at this point, wondering if Weiner will win the primary is sort of like wondering if Grumpy Cat will be cast as the next Dr. Who. But hey, we forge on! Read the newsiest bits below, condensed from BuzzFeed Editor In Chief Ben Smith’s deft interview.
Is stop-and-frisk a racist policy? “I know the outcome certainly does appear to be racial in nature, because just enormous numbers of black and Hispanic men were stopped.”
Does he still believe NYC Police Commissioner Ray Kelly is a good candidate to run the Department of Homeland Security, in light of the stop-and-frisk controversy? “Yeah. I think this is a bad policy, and I think he’s the architect of the policy, and I wouldn’t keep him as my police commissioner. But he’s an excellent servant of the people and I honor him for his service, and Homeland Security, I think that would be a good fit for him … I don’t think this disqualifies him.”
What about those bike lanes? “I once made a joke, I said to Mike Bloomberg—and this was in the height of a lot of the controversy about the bike lanes. I said the first thing I was going to do as mayor is hold a press conference tearing out your—this is the Internet, right?—tearing out your f***ing bike lanes. And it was a joke, it was a joke. There are good bike lanes and bad bike lanes … I like bikes as much as the next guy. You know what I don’t like, though, is policy jihadists who are incapable of the idea … that there are going to be stupid bike lanes, and so you’re going to replace them.
Are there any policies on which you’re a jihadist? “Stopping the real jihadis in the Middle East, but that’s a whole other thing.”
Do you know what your wife’s role would be in a potential Hillary Clinton 2016 campaign? I do. I’m not telling you. … You have to ask her.
On his (relative) lack of ties to public-sector unions and real estate interests: “I am also someone who is saying to them like everyone else, that I’m not beholden. There is some liberty that comes with no one, you know, no one supporting you.”
