Congressman Charles Rangel, longtime New York Democrat, did not join the calls for former congressman Anthony Weiner to drop out of the race for New York City mayor on Wednesday. Just the day before, Weiner acknowledged in a press conference that he continued to send lewd photos and messages to women after he resigned from Congress two years ago.
"Constitutionally, politically, anyone can run," Rangel said on Jansing & Co., keeping his answer brief. But, Rangel went further when asked about his reaction to seeing Huma Abedin, Weiner's wife and longtime aide to Hillary Clinton, stand next to her husband during the press conference.
"I have seen a lot of things like this in politics, where males have to lean on their wives for support. But I don't ever recall seeing a wife looking and feeling so sad and embarrassed, because Huma is a very private person, a very delicate, sophisticated person," Rangel said.
Abedin told reporters Tuesday her husband has made some "terrible mistakes" but she forgives him. She also insisted they had talked about "all of this" before he decided to run for mayor of New York City.
"And all the years that I've known her, putting her into this political situation, as bright, as intelligent as she is, is very awkward. And my feelings were all for her in terms of what she felt she had to do for her husband. It's really a sad day," Rangel said.