An ex-adviser to former US president Barack Obama has been sacked by his company after a video surfaced of him hurling a racist and Islamophobic tirade against a food cart vendor in New York. The man identified as Stuart Seldowitz worked for Gotham Government Relations – a DC-based lobbying firm which has cut ties with him.
Seldowitz in a viral video thread shared on social media, was caught harassing the vendor. Taking note of the situation, Gotham Government Relations on Tuesday (Nov 21) announced it was severing ties with him.
“Gotham Government Relations has ended all affiliation with Stuart Seldowitz, an individual who hasn’t contributed to our work in years,” the lobbying firm said in a statement.
“The video of his actions is vile, racist, and beneath the dignity of the standards we practise at our firm,” it added whilst also removing his page from the firm’s website.
Seldowitz was hired by the firm last year as its foreign affairs chair. Prior to that, he was acting director for the National Security Council South Asia Directorate under Obama and was deputy director/senior political officer in the US State Department’s Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs from 1999 to 2003.
What did Seldowitz say?
In the video, Seldowitz starts off by saying that the Egyptian intelligence agency will get hold of the cart vendor’s parents and torture them.
“The Mukhabarat wants your picture. The Mukhabarat in Egypt will get your parents. Does your father like his fingernails? They’ll take them out one by one,” Seldowitz says as the man he’s addressing repeatedly tells him to leave and says he doesn’t speak English.
“Why should I go? Tell me why I should go? I’m standing here. I’m an American. It’s a free country. It’s not like Egypt,” Seldowitz responds.
This man wearing a green jacket was berating and harassing a halal cart vendor off 83rd and 2nd Ave in NYC. Does anyone know who this man is? Planning to report to the authorities. pic.twitter.com/GwklyXpsPH
— Layla 🪬 (@itslaylas) November 21, 2023
The user who posted the original video stated that Seldowitz had been harassing the vendor for the last two weeks. After the video went viral, a few more clips were posted on the platform where Seldowitz could be seen routinely hurling vitriol towards the non-threatening cart vendor.
(With inputs from agencies)
