‘Gold Bar Bob’ Menendez’s son Rob tries to hide family surname on campaign posters
Don’t read the fine print!
Incumbent U.S. Congressman Rob Menendez apparently doesn’t want anyone knowing his dad is disgraced Sen. “Gold Bar Bob” Menendez.
The Jersey City lawyer, whose father is being tried on federal bribery charges, opted to magnify his first name on his new congressional campaign signs — while using a miniscule font for his surname.
The final “E” in his last name mimics the wavy, red stripe “E” in President Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign logo.
Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf said Menendez’s son didn’t have much of a choice.
“He knows he has a problem, because of his father’s corruption trial,” Sheinkopf said. “He’s banking on his personal relationship with voters, which he thinks is on a first name basis.”
With the June 4 Democratic primaries fast approaching, campaign volunteers for Menendez, 38, have peppered utility poles throughout his district with barely-legible political posters.
The offices of both Bob and Rob Menendez did not respond to The Post’s repeated requests for comment.
The congressman represents New Jersey’s Eighth Congressional District, which includes most of Hudson County, and parts of Newark and Elizabeth. He first took office in early 2023, after running with signs that displayed his first and last names in the same-sized font.
Sen. Menendez’s trial began last week in Manhattan federal court, when jurors were shown dozens of photos taken inside the Garden State Democrat’s Englewood Cliffs house during a June 2022 raid by the FBI.
The pictures, presented in court last week, show gold bars, stacks of cash inside various bags — and even a pile of money stowed inside a well-worn brown Timberland work boot.
Menendez and his wife are charged with a slew of corruption and bribery crimes for allegedly pocketing the gold, cash, a Mercedes convertible and other luxury gifts.
In exchange, prosecutors say that Menendez, 70, used the power of his office, including heading the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to dole out favors for the governments of Egypt and Qatar as well as three prominent New Jersey businessmen.
Menendez — who dodged an unrelated corruption conviction after a mistrial in 2017 — stepped down from the Foreign Relations Committee following the new charges.
The latest polling gives Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla a five-point lead over Menendez.
In 2022, Menendez enjoyed a landslide victory over Republican nominee Marcos Arroyo, securing nearly 74-percent of the vote.
The elder Menendez announced in March he would not be seeking re-election.
