Former NY Sen. D'Amato: Weiner 'Needs Help'

Former New York Sen. Alfonse D'Amato said Friday that Anthony Weiner's run for mayor is all but over and suggested that "he needs help" to overcome his so-called sexting problem.

D'Amato, weighing in on the controversy surrounding Weiner, said Weiner's poll numbers would continue to drop as New Yorkers turn away from the idea of the former congressman — who was forced to resign in 2011 after admitting to sexting — serving as mayor of New York City.

"The position of mayor is probably, and certainly the most difficult, municipal [position] of government in the country, maybe the second-most looked on after the president in terms of the mayor who speaks out and people listen," the Republican D'Amato told Fox News. "[Weiner's] not going to make it, and I thank God for that, because he needs help."

In just a month, Weiner has dropped from leading in the polls to second behind City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, according to an NBC 4 New York/Wall Street Journal/Marist Poll released Thursday.

"It's a sad commentary that at this stage he would be one of the leading candidates and I think people are saying enough is enough," D'Amato said. "Weiner is a master at politics, but unfortunately badly flawed."

The former senator said he has endorsed Bill Thompson, who for the moment is running third in the Democratic field.

"He's the only adult. He really is," D'Amato said of Thompson. "You don't have to agree with him on everything but he's measured, he's the kind of person who's responsible, and he will be a terrific mayor and spokesman, and he'll bring people together."

Weiner has been embroiled in a scandal in which multiple women have come forward saying he sent sexually explicit messages and photos to them online. The scandal forced him to resign from Congress in 2011, but new revelations about his activities are now at the forefront in the mayor's race.

Just this week, it was revealed that he continued to send messages to women after he left Capitol Hill while his wife, Huma Abedin, was pregnant. The couple addressed the issue in a press conference Tuesday; she stood by him, telling reporters she has forgiven him. The couple said they consider the whole episode a private matter that would not affect his ability to run the city.

"Mr. Weiner has chosen to say that this is a private matter, and indeed as the mayor of New York, this is not private. The fact of the matter is, how can people put trust in you?" D'Amato said.