A hotel executive running for Congr🌊ess posted “creepy” statements on social media joking ab꧟out his attraction to gold medal gymnast McKayla Maroney — when she was just 16-years-old.
Suraj Patel, 34, who is running against Rep. Carolyn Maloney in the Democratic primary, posted on Facebook in 2012 about how he was smitten by Maroney, who has since 🎃testified about being sexually abused by monster doc Larry Nassar.
“I told her she should come to New York because we have a top shop there on Broadway, haha, that may 🅺have crossed the creepy line by a little,” Patel joked to a girlfriend on Facebook in August of 2012 after posting a pic of himself with the gymnast under a header that said: “We went to Top Shop. I bought a promise ring. Then they tried to arrest me.”
He added: “If this happens with McKayla Marܫoney . . . you can’t fault me, you know?. Sorry . .. you knew th𓆏e deal.”
“She’s only 16!,” the galpal responded.
The would-b🍌e congress member also linked to a Buzzfeed article featuring images of Maroney and wrote: “She’s so jacked, btw.”
In an earlier 2010 post, commented on a false story that actor John Stamos had a fling with a 17-ye🍬ar-old.
“Dude, she was 17 — that’s not that bad. Have mercy!,” wrote Patel, who, in addition to being resident of Sun Group Development, teaches business ethics at NYU.
Patel’s campaign tried to dismiss comments as out-of-context private jokes, and called his bawdy Stamos qu🎶ip a harmless reference to the actor’s catch phrase from “Full House.”
“He’s an outspoken supporter of the national dialogue we are having about sexual abuse and harassment,” his campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith said. “Thes🍨e efforts to tie years-old comments to it do a great disservice to women. Dredging up one-off old social media posts is a typical establishment politician’s way to discredit newcomers.”
Patel is running as an underdog campaign against to unseat Maloney in a district that c🌱overs the Upper East side and parts of Brooklyn and Queens. She was first elec📖ted in 1992.
The congresswoman’s campaign responded to news of the postings by saying: “Carolyn’s record of empower𓂃ing w😼omen and girls speaks for itself. ”