NEW YORK -- Anthony Weiner said he has no hard feelings against Bill and Hillary Clinton, who this week told the press, via surrogates, that they're not too happy about his embattled New York City mayoral campaign.
"I've got enormous respect for the Clintons," Weiner told reporters outside a mayoral forum in Manhattan on Tuesday. "They've been tremendous friends ... I recognize that I'm not a perfect messenger. I get that. It doesn't mean I'm going to stop from trying [to win the mayor's race]."
Monday night, when asked about the Clintons, Weiner told reporters that he was "not terribly interested in what people who are not voters in the city of New York have to say."
A source described as a "top state Democrat" by The New York Post told the paper Monday that "the Clintons are pissed off that Weiner's campaign is saying that [Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin,] is just like Hillary."
Not unlike Hillary Clinton's response to Bill Clinton's escapades, Abedin stood by her husband last week when he admitted to exchanging more sexually charged online messages with women.
"How dare they compare Huma with Hillary?" the source said to the Post. "Hillary was the first lady. Hillary was a senator. She was secretary of state."
"Hillary didn't know Huma would do this whole stand-by-your-man routine, and that's one of the reasons the Clintons are distancing themselves from all this nonsense," the source added.
Abedin, who worked as one of Hillary Clinton's top assistants when she was secretary of state, has enjoyed a close relationship with the Clintons. The former president even officiated at Weiner and Abedin's wedding back in 2010.
Weiner, who has plummeted to fourth place in the polls since last week's sexting revelations, has remained defiant in the face of calls for him to drop out of the race.
Eliot Spitzer said Monday night on MSNBC's "Hardball" that he would have fired Weiner for his "improper" behavior.
Weiner responded to Spitzer's comments Tuesday morning. "Every New Yorker has to make a decision as to who they're going to vote for," he said. "Including Mr. Spitzer."
Spitzer, who resigned as governor of New York in 2008 after admitting to paying for prostitutes, is running for New York City comptroller.
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