Paladino says Jewish politician Sheldon Silver “‘fits the bill of an Antichrist or a Hitler’”

An article in the October 27, 2009, Niagara Falls Gazette recounted how an Erie County politician had earlier apologized and called a "'poor joke'" his having compared Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, an Orthodox Jew, "to Adolf Hitler and the Antichrist." This same article reported that Carl Paladino told attendees, at a public forum sponsored by the Niagara County Patriots, he didn't think the politician should have apologized. He then went on to state, referring to Silver, that "'If I could ever describe a person who would fit the bill of an Antichrist or a Hitler, this guy is it.'"

After the Huffington Post picked up on Paladino's remarkable statements (via the Albany Times Union's Capitol Confidential blog), Michael Caputo, Paladino's spokesman, responded by saying Paladino does not recall making those statements. Caputo also stated that Paladino "'speaks in kitchen-table language,'" "'not a particular dialect of political correctness.'" His comments may have caused the reporter to list several other notable examples of Paladino's "kitchen-table language," including his statement that he "'would try like hell to send Sheldon Silver to Attica. On the way, we're gonna have him stop in all those little communities along the Thruway, and I'm going [to] let those people beat him up a little bit.'"

Scheer, Mark. Paladino rallies the Patriots. Niagara Gazette. October 27, 2009.

Vielkind, Jimmy. Paladino backed anti-Christ' comments. Albany Times Union/ Capitol Confidential. August 24, 2010.

Terkel, Amanda. ADL Blasts Paladino, New York Tea Party Candidate, For Comparing Jewish Politician to Hitler. Huffington Post. August 24, 2010.