You'd think an old white guy representing a majority-minority district in NY-16 (the Bronx) would have more sense than to admit the only reason he came to an event was for his upcoming primary. We all remember what happened to Joe Crowley when Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez decided to challenge him, don't we?

Source: CNN

Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel was caught on a hot mic at a news conference on Tuesday following civil unrest in New York City, appearing to tell another speaker that he only wanted to speak because of his primary race.

In the video, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. appears to be telling Engel, the Democratic chairman of the influential House Foreign Affairs Committee, that he has a list of other people who need to speak regarding civil unrest that took place in the borough the previous day.

Diaz told Engel appreciates the congressman being there. Engel is then heard saying, "if I didn't have a primary, I wouldn't care."

Diaz quickly rebuked Engel, telling him, "Don't do that to me. We're not gonna do this. We're not politicizing. Everybody's got a primary, you know. I'm sorry."

NY1 reporter Emily Ngo tweeted video of the incident Tuesday, and other local news outlets also played the clip. Engel faces a primary election on June 23.

Jamaal Bowman, a Democratic challenger to Engel, responded to the video on Twitter, saying the clip "is so incredibly painful to watch."

And as for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, she's not endorsing the longtime incumbent.