It is not very uncommon to see politicians throwing away their gab of modesty and public humility when rubbed the wrong way. The most recent outburst by the US Congressman Michael Grimm is certainly not a first in the history.
There have been several others, right from former Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton to NJ Governor Chris Christie.
Here are Ten most memorable outbursts by Politicians in Public -
1. Chris Christie Calls Law Student, former Navy Seal 'Idiot'
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who is currently embroiled in the Bridge Gate closure scandal, directed his sharp tongue at a Rutgers University law student in March 2012 and called him an 'idiot.'
William Brown, a second-year law student, got into a heated argument over the merger plan between Rutgers and Rowan universities – which Christie supported. Finally the law student was kicked out of the town hall.
But as Brown was being escorted out of the hall, Christie said,"Let me tell you something, after you graduate from law school, you conduct yourself like that in a court room, your rear end is going to be thrown in jail, idiot."
"I tried to be patient with the guy. Every time I tried to answer he started yelling over me again. I think, 'Damn man, I'm governor, can you just shut up for a second?'" he added.
2. Bush Calls a reporter -"Major League A**hole"
Former President George W. Bush was caught criticizing a New York Times reporter while campaigning for presidency in 2000, which turned out to be memorable moment.
"There's Adam Clymer — major league a**hole — from the New York Times," Bush said with a wide-smile on his face to his then-running mate Dick Cheney, as they waved to the supporters at an Illinois rally.
To this Cheney responded -"Yeah, big time."
The two were unaware that the microphone on the podium in front of them was turned on. Though the remark was not heard by the crowd, but the TV crew, who were plugged into the microphone caught the remark clearly.
3. Rep. Joe Wilson Called Obama A Liar
During the 2009 State of Union address of President Obama, Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst became the talk of the town.
In course of his speech, Obama said that his health care plan would not benefit illegal immigrants, to which representative Wilson shouted "You lie!" a comment that reverberated through the chamber, drawing a pause from the president. Even though Rep. Joe Wilson apologized immediately, the House later decided to reprimand Wilson for his "breach of decorum."
4. Obama's Former Interior Secretary Threatened To Punch A Reporter Out
The then Interior Secretary Ken Salazar threatened to punch a local reporter in Colorado. On November 14 2012, Salazar was confronted by a Colorado Springs Gazette reporter over tie ups with a rancher. Salazar in turn said, "If you do that to me again, I'm going to punch you out." He however,later apologized.
5. Rick Santorum says "That's Bulls**t!"
Another memorable angry outburst remains that of former Senator Rick Santorum where he used a mild expletive to chastise a journalist.
Rick Santorum, who then was a presidential candidate, blew up at a New York Times reporter Jeff Zeleny in March 2012 during a campaign rally.
The outburst came when a reporter asked Santorum to speak about his earlier comments on rival Mitt Romney as "worst Republican" to run against President Obama.
"Quit distorting my words," Santorum shot back at the reporter. "It's bulls**t. Come on, man. What are you doing?" he added.
6. When Anthony Weiner mocked a British TV reporter
Anthony Weiner's 2013 New York city mayoral campaign was filled with awkward moments. The ill-fated mayoral campaign ended with the final embarrassment when the poll he gained a mere 5 percent votes.
His most memorable outbursts would be that of mimicking the accent of the British reporter of ITV. In an interview, Weiner mocked the accent of ITV's Lucy Watson and said he felt like he had walked into a "Monty Python bit" and offered to mimic a British weatherman: "It's going to be rainy, cloudy and gray, so do what you can, guys."
7. Bill Clinton Scolded a Reporter 'Shame on You'
In January 2008, Clinton scolded a reporter while he was answering questions about his chief Democratic rival, Senator Barack Obama.
"Are you saying the Obama camp is bringing up these racial issues?" asked CNN reporter Jessica Yellin, to which Clinton replied: "You want another story. I'm not gonna get in a fight with him, I'm just gonna answer what the facts are. … There are indisputable facts. You wanna make this about words and name calling. I hate it."
"One more story. Shame on you. Shame on you!" Clinton added.
8. Carl Paladino threatens Fred Dicker, "I'll take you out, buddy."
Fred Dicker, a reporter from the New York Post, asked Carl Pasquale Paladino, the American businessman and political activist from Buffalo, New York to provide some evidence on his accusation that the current New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, was having an extra marital affair. Instead of any evidence, Paladino accused Dicker of sending his "goons" after Paladino's daughter. The confrontation got more heated when Dicker continued to press Paladino on showing some evidence for his charge. Paladino then called Dicker Cuomo's "stalking horse" and "bird dog." Before walking out Paladino warned that if Dicker sent "another goon" to his daughter's house, then he will take him out.
9 Ford asks Bill Weir: "You ever get drunk before?"
In a contentious interview in November 2013, with CNN's Weir, Toronto mayor Rob Ford lashed out at the media. Ford was asked why he had decided to reveal the truth that he smoked crack cocaine in a "drunken stupor" over a year ago, Ford said, "I'm not gonna run around and be phony and lie... I was tired of all these allegations and bullsh*t. Excuse my words. Sorry, I shouldn't swear in front of the kids."
But when Weir accused him of playing with "semantics," Ford got angry and said: "Typical media. You guys are all the same, you're all cut from the same cloth. You can spin it any way you want."
Later in an effort to make his point, he turned the table on Weir and asked "You ever get drunk before?"
10. New York Congressman Threatens to Throw Reporter Off Balcony
Representative Michael Grimm, Republican Congressman from Staten Island threatened New York 1 reporter Michael Scotto with physical violence at the Capitol balcony, following 2014 President's State of the Union address on Tuesday night.
The reporter tried asking Grimm for details of an ongoing investigation into his campaign finances but Grimm stopped him and said: "I'm not talking about anything that's off-topic, this is only about the president," before walking away from the camera.
As Scotto began to explain to viewers that the Congressman did not want to answer questions about the investigation, an angry Grimm physically pushed Scotto out of the view of the camera and threatened to throw him off the balcony.
