“The View” host Barbara Walters has not kept it a secret that she has soon-to-be former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s side in his current controversy with some ill-advised photos he has sent out over the Internet. However, she has moved on to wondering how he and his wife Huma Abedin will survive without Weiner’s congressional salary.
On Thursday’s “The View,” Walters speculated what might have happened if Weiner had stuck it out, but said it was finally coming to a conclusion with the announcement of his resignation.
“We don’t have any idea what she said,” Walters said. “But she did come home on Tuesday and he did consult with her Tuesday night. And had he stayed, there would have been investigations by the House Ethics Committee. The Democratic leaders had already been planning to strip him of whatever committee assignments he had and there would be questions. This puts a stop to it and at 2:00 today, he’s supposed to announce.”
But Walters seemed concerned with the announcement, as in where and if Weiner could find employment upon leaving Congress.
“You know, we can make fun of him but in a way it’s a tragedy,” Walters said. “[H]e’s never had another job. What does he do after this? … Many people have had a job before or they were lawyers.”
She ruled out him being a consultant and noted how thin his private sector experience was.
“Nobody is going to go to him to consult,” she continued. “He was [Sen.] Chuck Schumer’s consultant once, Chuck Schumer’s assistant and then I think he was a city councilman.”
And with a pregnant wife, Walters worried what lies ahead for the New York City Democrat.
“I mean, he’s got a whole life ahead and he has to worry also because we don’t know what Huma, who is three-months pregnant is going to do,” Walters added.
However, “The View” co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck said this was of Weiner’s own making, even though it is a sad tale:
HASSELBECK: I just want to remind us because —
WALTERS: I don’t like to kick a guy when he’s down.
HASSELBECK: I didn’t put him there and he has to take care of what’s going on in his family and I think it is sad. But I don’t think we can forget that he started off lying as a public figure to the public.