
6
BROOKLYN WEEKLY, DECEMBER 22, 2019
PISS POOR SHOWING
Controversial Youtuber ends his bid for congressional seat
BY ROSE ADAMS
Joey Saladino — a controversial
Youtuber known for urinating
into his own mouth — has
ended his bid for southern Brooklyn’s
congressional seat to back a
fellow Republican candidate, he
announced on Thursday.
“Six months ago, there were
no true Conservative / Pro-
Trump candidates running
in NY-11. Gun grabber, Never-
Trump Nicole Malliotakis was
the only option- and that was
just unacceptable to me,” Saladino
wrote in a Facebook post.
“But in the last month, that has
changed. A new candidate decided
to join the race, Joe Caldarera.”
The 26-year-old internet personality
announced his bid for
the congressional seat — which
encompasses part of southern
Brooklyn and Staten Island — in
May, and spent the last several
months drawing heated opinions
for his outrageous social media
stunts.
For example, the Youtube
prankster — who goes by the
name “Joey Salads” online —
staged a viral video in October
when he attended a Bernie
Sanders rally in Queens, and
confronting attendees about
whether they would house an undocumented
immigrant.
Saladino has also been recorded
donning a Nazi outfi t —
complete with numerous swastikas
— for a “prank.”
But most infamously, Saladino
went viral for peeing into
his mouth for a provocative internet
video — although he
claims he “never swallowed.”
But his political fun came to
an end on Dec. 13, when Saladino
announced that he’d drop out of
the race to back former Brooklyn
prosecutor Joe Caldarera —
a fellow Staten Islander whose
values align closely with Saladino’s,
according to Saladino’s
campaign manager.
“Both of them are young
south shore guys. They’re both
Italian Catholics,” said Adam
Kordeniwski. “Just looking at
it, it would’ve split the vote too
much.”
Caldarera — a staunch Republican
and Trump supporter
— didn’t respond to comment
on whether or not he welcomed
Saladino’s endorsement, but
Saladino’s aide said the internet
star’s infamy is undoubtedly an
asset for any campaign.
“There’s this attitude in politics
that controversies are bad,
but he’s used it to his advantage,”
said Kordeniwski. “You have to
have a little bit of an edge on you
in order to stay in the news.”
Saladino’s exit from the June
2020 Republican primary campaign
leaves Caldarera to face
Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis
for the party nod to run
in the 11th District’s general
election.
The District is currently represented
by Congressman Max
Rose, a Democrat who won the
seat in 2018 during a wave election
for the left-leaning party.
Prior to that election, the area
was solidly Republican — having
voted heavily for Donald Trump
in the 2016 Presidential election.
As a whole, Staten Island has
only sent two Democrats to congress
in the last 30 years — including
Rose.
Whoever wins the Republican
nomination will face-off against
Rose in Nov. 3, 2020 — on the
same day that Americans vote
for President.
The District 11 race continued
to heat up on Friday, when
Rose announced his support for
the impeachment of President
Trump — after initially hesitating
to support the impeachment
inquiry.
“A President coercing a foreign
government into targeting
American citizens is not just another
example of scorched earth
politics, it serves as an invitation
to the enemies of the United
States to come after any citizen,
so long as they disagree with the
President,” Rose said in a statement.
The position caused a new
wave of outrage among the district’s
Republicans, who used the
stance to align Rose with Democratic
Socialist candidates like
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders
and fellow New York City
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“His words send a clear message
to Staten Island and southern
Brooklyn & next November
we’ll send a clear message back
by voting for Donald Trump &
sending Rose packing,” tweeted
Malliotakis.
This newspaper is not responsible for typographical errors in ads beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2019 by Brooklyn Courier
Life LLC. The content of this newspaper is protected by Federal copyright law. This newspaper, its advertisements, articles, and photographs may not be reproduced, either in
whole or part, without permission in writing from the publisher except brief portions for purposes of review or commentary consistent with the law. Postmaster, send address
changes to Courier Life, One MetroTech Center North, Third Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201.
Internet prankster Joey Saladino — known as Joey Salads — dropped out of the District 11 Congressional race on Dec. 13.
Photo courtesy of Joey Salads