Size matters…. at least on New York’s power political gala circuit!
Guests were tittering when disgraced pol Anthony Weiner appeared to be relegated to “the kids’ table” at the 101st Inner Circle dinner at the Ziegfeld Ballroom.
An insider who attended the storied event told Page Six, “Anthony Weiner was stuck on the ‘kid’s table” — also dubbing the seat, “the small Weiner table” — “because there was no room” at one of the larger tables at the event.
The source told us, “First off, Weiner was sitting [at a big table] then someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he had to sit at the baby table which was right in front of the stage.”
In the end, “Weiner pulled out early and left at the first intermission… Everyone in the room was laughing about it.”
A pic of the table in question obtained by Page Six showed a mini-table for three set up next to a side exit.
But the former New York congressman — who has launched a comeback campaign for City Council — says he did not flee the event because of table envy, and didn’t know what the table mix-up was about.
“I have no idea what happened with the table… I think a couple of staffers for elected officials sat there or something,” Weiner told us via email.
He added that he was a guest of his onetime power defense attorney and close friend Arthur Aidala — whose clients also include Ghislaine Maxwell, Harvey Weinstein, Rudy Giuliani and Steve Bannon, among others.
Weiner also wrote via email when we reached out that, “As for why I left, I never stay for the whole show.”
Aidala told us plainly when we reached out about the seating snafu, “They just screwed up… they only set this table for eight when if you looked at the table chart they had 12 names.”
He said it was an honest mistake and that he gave Weiner his seat, and was standing at the show with the Deputy Mayor of New York City for Public Safety Kaz Daughtry when, “They know me… and I’m standing with the deputy mayor watching the show, and they said, ‘This is unacceptable for us, we’re going to set you up,’ and they gave us this nice little table.”
Another source added that as a solution, “The venue then made them their own table for three with Anthony, Kaz and Arthur.”
Aidala’s attendance at the event stretches back decades since, “my grandfather wrote for the Daily Mirror, he was with the Inner Circle since 1941… I’ve been going to this thing since I’m 15.”
He also said he is supporting Weiner’s comeback run for office.
“Before he was a client he was a friend,” said Aidala, who attended Weiner’s 2017 wedding to his now-ex-wife Huma Abedin. “We met on the campaign trail 1990s. I find him intriguing, he’s a great conversationalist, he’s really smart.”
“When he got in trouble, I represented him,” the legal eagle said. “I’ve been through thick and thin with him, and we’ve had a pretty cool friendship.”
He said that Weiner actually left the gala early to spend time with his son.
Back in 2023, The Post reported that Weiner attended that same gala with his then-estranged wife Abedin, sparking erroneous buzz at the time that they might’ve been getting back together.
Page Six subsequently reported last year and the former Hillary Clinton aide is now engaged to Democratic billionaire mega-donor Alex Soros, and they’re expected to marry on June 14.
The annual Inner Circle charity show is a major event that brings the media and political worlds together for a night of theatrical comedy skits.
This year the show roasted Mayor Eric Adams, mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo, Gov. Kathy Hochul and MTA CEO Janno Lieber, among others, while guests included NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, former mayor Bill de Blasio, NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, many more.
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