NY1 cable news reporter Michael Scotto said United States Representative Michael Grimm reached out and apologized for threatening to throw him off a balcony during an interview at the State of the Union address on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.
The confrontation took place on a balcony where the President was speaking in the Capital after Scotto questioned him about an ongoing Justice Department investigation into his campaign finances, the AP reported.
In a scene Grimm probably wishes was never recorded, Scotto begins to ask him a last question about his campaign finances but Grimm cuts him off and says he will not speak about anything but the State of the Union address.
Scotto then finishes the report as Grimm walks away. When Grimm thinks the camera is no longer filming, he comes back into the shot as Scotto seems to back away in apprehension. Grimm then says to Scotto: "Let me be clear to you. If you ever do that to me again I'll throw you off this f------ balcony."
Scotto rebuttals and asks why, stating it is a valid question, only to have Grimm tell him he "you're not man enough. I'll break you in half. Like a boy."
The scene was uploaded to the web by NY1 and shortly Scotto says Grimm called him to apologize for threatening him, the AP reported.
"I accepted his apology and I think we're going to move on from here," Scotto said on Wednesday, according to the AP.
Initially, Grimm was unapologetic and said Scotto's question was disrespectful, but Scotto said on NY1 his apology sounded sincere, the AP reported.
"He said he overreacted," Scotto told the AP. "He said that the behavior that he showed wasn't him. So I accepted the apology."
Though initially combative about the event, Grimm told reporters on Wednesday, probably after enduring political criticism of the event, he would be "getting an earful" from his mother, the AP reported.
"The bottom line is, sometimes I wear my emotions on my sleeve," Grimm said, according to the AP. "I was wrong. It shouldn't have happened."
