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City Hall aide fired after disparaging remarks about NYC mayor surface
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Oct 20, 2022
Modified Oct 20, 2022
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YouTube/Project Veritas
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Oct 20, 2022
Modified Oct 20, 2022
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A City Hall staffer was fired after a secretly recorded video of him lambasting Mayor Eric Adams and mocking NYPD officers surfaced on Tuesday.
The video consists of a series of clips taken at different bars and restaurants, in which Christopher Baugh candidly shared his takes on the mayor and other city issues.
“I don’t know that Eric Adams is capable enough to navigate it,” Baugh said of the mayor’s handling of the city’s migrant crisis in the video released by far-right activist group Project Veritas.
In another clip, he was heard saying, “The mayor thinks he’s got, like, ambition for running for president, and I’m like, ‘This is it for you, like, no you can’t.”
But it was Baugh’s comments about NYPD officers and firefighters that led to his ouster, Adams said on Thursday. In one clip, Baugh says he has “no sympathy” for cops and firefighters who were fired from their jobs after refusing to get vaccinated for COVID-19.
“They chose not to do a very, very harmless thing that protects the rest of society — f–k ’em,” Baugh said. “I don’t give a s–t. They’re like ‘Wah, this is unfair’ — f–king deal with it.”
He later said, "Being a cop is like the cushiest gig in the city. Like, you might get shot, but otherwise it’s very good.”
The mayor said he felt the remarks targeting first responders ultimately crossed the line.
“The first tape, we saw Christopher say disparaging remarks about me. The team came to me and stated, you know what, are we getting rid of him? I said, no!” Adams said at a news conference on Thursday. “People crap on me everyday. You gotta be thick-skinned. But when you have disparaging remarks about first responders, it’s unacceptable. It’s not tolerated.”
Adams added, “We did give him a second chance. Gotta be thick-skinned in this business. But my first responders don’t have to be thick-skinned, and I’m gonna stand up for them.”
Baugh’s name made headlines over the summer when he was robbed at gunpoint and reportedly told the muggers, “You don’t want to do this. I work for the mayor.”
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