In what was his first national radio interview since losing his bid for mayor of New York City, former New York Rep. Anthony Weiner said his sexting scandal was what derailed his campaign.
"I'm not an idiot. I know that it [sexting scandal] succeeded in derailing my campaign,"
Weiner told talk show host Geraldo Rivera Friday on his radio show.
"It was bumpy up and down. But it was a thrill in running for mayor in this town. It's like no other pursuit really on earth," Weiner said.
Weiner resigned from Congress two years ago after details emerged about sexting with women other than his wife. While running for mayor of New York in the Democratic primary, new sexting charges came out that upended his campaign.
"I took this campaign, frankly, on a bet. And that was, at the end of the day, something that was behind me should not stop me," Weiner said. "I took a calculated risk and I lost."
Weiner maintained that he thought he was the "best candidate," and that he would have been "the best mayor." He also told Rivera that there was a "a disconnect between the people in your business [the media] and what real citizens out there were talking about."
The former mayoral candidate said that he was always honest about his past, telling the media that his problems were "in my rear view mirror, but not far."
Weiner said his plans for the future are uncertain, noting that his campaign only ended a week and a half ago. His focus, right now, he said is on his family.
"My wife's good. My marriage is good," Weiner said. "Every day I'm trying to be as good a husband as I can be, as good a father I can be, as good a New Yorker as I can be," Weiner said.
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