U.S. President Barack Obama said he would resign if he were in NY Congressman Anthony Weiner’s shoes.
Obama said Monday that Weiner’s behavior — sending vulgar photos of himself to at least six women on the Internet — was “highly inappropriate” and that Weiner had embarrassed himself, his wife and his family.
Obama stopped short of calling for Weiner’s resignation, and he doesn’t have the power to fire Weiner. But Obama said Weiner “should probably step back” if he couldn’t perform his job duties effectively.
Obama made the statements during an interview for NBC’s “Today Show” on Monday.
A White House spokesman called the media frenzy surrounding Weiner “a distraction from the important business that this President needs to conduct and Congress needs to conduct.”
Weiner has stubbornly refused to step down despite calls from fellow Democrats to resign. About 20 of Weiner’s constituents rallied in front of his office calling for his resignation on Monday.
The embattled congressman took a leave of absence on Friday to seek unspecified treatment for an unspecified problem. Weiner most likely suffers from narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), which is very difficult to cure.
