New video emerges of ranting Toronto mayor
Rob Ford, the under-fire leader of Canada's largest city, suffered further embarrassment on Thursday as new video footage emerged of him making threats
Moments after the video was posted online, the mayor told reporters that he was “extremely, extremely inebriated” in it and “embarrassed” by it. The context of the video is unknown, and it’s unclear who the target of Ford’s wrath is. The video appeared at length on the Toronto Star’s website.
City councilors moved ahead in efforts to force Ford out of office, although there is no clear legal path for doing so.
Ford’s mother defended him later on Thursday, saying she has advised him to work on his “huge weight problem,” get a driver, put an alcohol detector in his car and watch the company he keeps. But she insisted that her son, who has acknowledged a drinking problem, did not need to enter rehab.
The controversy surrounding Ford escalated last week when police announced they had obtained a different, long-sought video that shows Ford smoking a crack pipe. After months of evading the question, Ford admitted on Tuesday to smoking crack in a “drunken stupor” about a year ago.