John Catsimatidis, the owner of New York conservative talk radio stronghold WABC, has vowed to fire his newest star, Anthony Cumia, if he says anything antisemitic on air.
Catsimatidis, a billionaire supermarket mogul and former Republican candidate for mayor, made the pledge in response to a Jewish Telegraphic Agency article about Cumia’s history of antisemitic and racist tweets. He said the station had discussed the tweets with Cumia prior to hiring him, and added that he believed Cumia’s contract forbids antisemitism on his radio show.
“He says anything antisemitic, he’s off the network,” Catsimatidis said in an interview on Thursday. “We’re not going to put on somebody that’s bad for our people.”
Cumia, a longtime presence in conservative talk radio who had been fired from a previous gig in 2014 for racist social media posts, has posted numerous antisemitic and pro-Adolf Hitler posts on X over the past couple years, in addition to racist rhetoric. His posts range from Holocaust jokes to an endorsement of the antisemitic “Great Replacement” theory to praise of white supremacist influencer Nick Fuentes.
He aired the first episode of The Anthony Cumia Show on Sunday night. The show, according to the station, was a hit, and is now being syndicated nationally.
Catsimatidis said antisemitism runs against the conservative station’s ethos, calling WABC “the most pro-Jewish station in America.” He added that he had spoken with Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, about Cumia.
“WABC will not allow him to say anything antisemitic, he knows this,” Catsimatidis said of Cumia. “He knows that WABC will not tolerate it.”
Reached by (JR), Potasnik said he was going to “going to meet with ABC to get a complete understanding of the story” and would refrain from commenting further until then. He vouched for Catsimatidis’ record of standing with the Jewish people.
“I’ve known John for years, he’s been a friend, he’s been one who’s always been there for the Jewish people, a steadfast friend of the Jewish community,” Potasnik said.
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