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Former Congressman Anthony Weiner was asked during his first TV appearance since spending 18 months behind bars for sending obscene material to a minor if he’s changed – and he answered, “Well, um, I think so.”
“I don’t think anyone can go through that kind of experience — and I think this is probably true of people who have been through other types of adversity — I don’t think you go through that type of experience and don’t emerge changed,” Weiner said Monday night on “Hannity.”
The disgraced ex-pol appeared on the show with Guardian Angels founder and former Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa to promote their new weekly show, “The Left vs. The Right,” on 77 WABC Radio.
Sean Hannity called Weiner’s answer “obscure.”
“Either you know in your heart if you’ve changed, or you know in your heart if you didn’t change,” he told Weiner, Fox News reported. “Can you assure people? Because you’re going to now try and draw in an audience, and they’re going to want to know if you changed or not. Have you changed?”
The former Democratic congressman replied that people “can judge for themselves,” adding: “I’m not out to persuade you or anyone else that I’ve changed.
“I mean, I’m doing a radio show and people can call and ask me questions,” Weiner continued. “We did one this past Saturday where people had an opportunity to call in and where Curtis asked me a bunch of questions and I asked and answered the best I can.
“But in terms of like, I’m trying to draw someone, you know, I’m not trying to make someone like me or someone be persuaded of any particular outlook on me. We’re going to have some conversations about things going on in New York City and other places, and hopefully, people will tune in to the show. But I’m not terribly interested in trying to make them feel any differently about me,” he added.
Hannity said he would have “expected a little more sincerity — a little more heartfelt” and “repentant” response.
“I don’t know what to tell you,” Weiner shot back.
He told Page Six exclusively that his new high-profile gig isn’t part of a larger comeback plan as a media maven.
“I am not going back into public life, I am doing a radio show with a friend of mine,” he said.
“It’s not a conscious decision,” he said, joking that “I have a face for radio, but I don’t know if I have a place in radio as a career. Sometimes it is what it is.”
He added to Page Six: “There’s a lot of water under the bridge. There have been a lot of opportunities for me to process a lot of stuff. A lot of time has passed. I don’t think I would be going on the radio if I didn’t think Curtis or listeners would ask tough questions.”
Weiner, who is still on probation, was convicted of one count of transmitting obscene material to a minor – a 15-year-old girl — in 2017 and spent 18 months at the Federal Medical Center at Devens, Massachusetts.
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