Andrew Yang, a former 2020 presidential candidate turned mayoral contender, is gaining criticism for his controversial remarks about living and working in New York City.
In comments panned as tone-deaf, Yang explained his decision not to reside in the city he hopes to lead, deeming the situation untenable given the cramped living quarters.
“We live in a two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. And so, like, can you imagine trying to have two kids on virtual school in a two-bedroom apartment, and then trying to do work yourself?” he told the New York Times.
The explanation attracted widespread criticism online. Scott Bixby, a reporter at the Daily Beast, argued that the picture Yang painted sounds all too familiar to many New York City families.
"I wager… most parents in New York can? And do?" he wrote, tacking a grimacing emoji to the end of an earlier tweet in the thread quoting Yang's remarks.
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Ester Ciammachilli, a local host of Morning Edition on WAMU 88.5, sarcastically described the interview as proof that Yang is "in touch with the millions of parents in New York City."
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Others argued that the gaffe was campaign-ending. Karol Markowicz, a columnist at the New York Post, declared that Yang would be unable to overcome the comments.
"I hope everyone enjoyed the Andrew Yang mayoral campaign because it is now over," she tweeted.
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The controversy comes less than three weeks after Yang filed paperwork to join a crowded field of Democratic contenders in New York's 2021 mayoral race. None of his opponents have addressed his remarks at this time.
When asked about Yang's comments, Greg Nasif, chief spokesman and press secretary at Yang's Humanity Forward Foundation, told the Washington Examiner, "HF does not support or endorse, and will not comment on or respond to any inquiries relating to, any political campaign or candidate for elected office."
