Failing to gain traction in his bid for mayor, George McDonald, a candidate for mayor in the Republican primary, has adopted the Carl Paladino’ name calling method to get under the skin of some of his opponents. This week it was Anthony Weiner’s turn to get a load.

“I would contrast my values with Anthony Weiner any day of the week,” said Mr. McDonald at the AARP forum, hosted at Hunter College on the Upper East Side, Tuesday morning. The crowd responded with loud boos.

“You don’t want me to talk? Fine, that’s more time for this glib narcissist,” McDonald said of Weiner.

Mr. McDonald He later went on the attack again, according to the Daily News, pleading, “I ask you for just 30 seconds without booing me.”

“Believe me, it’s not nice to talk about. I didn’t have a nice conversation with my ten-year-old granddaughter about why one person is so much more famous than you, Grandpa. What did he do? Why don’t you do what he did?” he said.

“Believe me, you’ll be very disappointed if this person gets elected mayor. He doesn’t have any executive experience, never has anybody that works for him longer than three weeks, is only interested in himself and not your best interest, that’s for sure.”

Before the start of the forum, attended by all ten candidates for mayor, Weiner put a hand on McDonald’s back and said hello, prompting McDonald to reply: “I would appreciate if you would never touch me again.”

“What’s going to happen if I do?” Weiner taunted in response. “You have anger issues.”

“I don’t have any anger issues,” Mr. McDonald replied. “Yes, you do, Grandpa,” snapped Weiner.

The heated exchange was captured by a NY1 camera.

Last week, at a candidate forum in Queens, Mr. McDonald issued a degrading line of attack against Mr. Weiner, as Kate Taylor reported.

“When it was Mr. McDonald’s turn to speak again, responding to Mr. Weiner’s dismissal of his criticism as “chirping from the fringes,” he shot back at him: “My values are not fringe values. My values represent the values of the people of the City of New York, not this self-pleasuring … freak!”

The audience began booing loudly, as Mr. McDonald fought to speak over them. “Well, he is — he is,” he said. “It’s as simple as that. He eats up all of the oxygen in the room.” There was more booing, as Mr. McDonald struggled to be heard. “Let me tell you something, this is America. I have paid for the right — my name is on the ballot — ”

Responding to critics, Mr. Weiner explained the Grandpa reference, in a radio interview Wednesday morning. “He talks about his granddaughter in every answer on the campaign trail,” Mr. Weiner told the radio host Mark Riley on AM1600.

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)