‘I have forgiven him’
Pained Huma backs husband, marriage
Huma Abedin awkwardly joined horndog husband Anthony Weiner yesterday as he brushed off his latest sexting scandal — and then she stepped forward to bare her soul.
“Our marriage, like many others, has had its ups and its downs,” she said nervously in her first time speaking at a press conference. “It took a lot of work and whole lot of therapy to get to a place where I could forgive Anthony.”
Abedin, who kept a noticeable distance from Weiner during his speech and bobbed her head when he blamed his behavior on marital problems, told reporters she is still 100 percent behind his run for mayor.
She also defended her decision to stick out the marriage despite being publicly humiliated.
“It was not an easy choice in any way, but I made the decision that it was worth staying in this marriage,” she said. “That was a decision I made for me, for our son and for our family.
“I didn’t know how it would work out, but I did know that I wanted to give it a try.”
Abedin spoke forcefully and slowly, and began her speech by admitting she was skittish about speaking.
“I’ve spent a good deal [of time] on the campaign trail. Going to churches and street fairs, parades. But this is the first time I’ve spoken at a press conference,” she said.
“And you’ll have to bear with me, because I’m very nervous, and I wrote down what I wanted to say.”
Abedin said that when the Weiner scandal first broke in 2011, “it was the beginning of a time in our marriage that was very difficult, and it took us a very long time to get through it.
“Anthony’s made some horrible mistakes, both before he resigned from Congress and after. But I do very strongly believe that that is between us and our marriage. We discussed all of this before Anthony decided he would run for mayor.
“So really what I want to say is: I love him, I have forgiven him, I believe in him, and as we have said from the beginning, we are moving forward. Thank you very much. Thank you for your time.”
Hollywood media expert Michael Levine said Abedin’s confessional doesn’t help her husband’s image, but adds to her likability.
“I think she’s simultaneously sympathetic and sad,” he said.
But political media strategist Adam Weiss compared Huma to her boss, Hillary Rodham Clinton, who came out on top after her husband’s sex scandal.
“They are that powerhungry that she stands there and she accepts the absolute disgracefulness of serial cheating from her husband,” he said. “Huma comes from the Clinton school of forgiveness — power is more important than dignity.”