Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
2008 Creeps Closer With Questions About Rudy's Record
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 25, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 25, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
"Islamic terrorists are at war with us," Rudy Giuliani told about 300 people at a synagogue in Rockville, Md., one evening in July. He likes to say it that way — that they are at war with us, not the other way around. "They want to kill us," he warned a group in New Hampshire the same month. "They hate you," he told a woman in Atlanta.
That's the first paragraph of the new Time magazine's investigation into Giuliani's record. While pollster Frank Luntz says, "You cannot underestimate the impact of having seen him on television hour after hour dealing with the tragedy. That gives him a level of credibility that nobody else has," to explain how Giuliani's September 11, 2001 demeanor can shape his 2008 presidential bid, that doesn't mean his NYC record is sacred.
This week, his Republican opponents have been attacking his New York City record, with Mitt Romney criticizing Giuliani's liberal stance on immigration and Fred Thompson denouncing Giuliani's gun control attitudes. In fact, Thompson's blogged, "When I was working in television, I spent quite a bit of time in New York City. There are lots of things about the place I like, but New York gun laws don’t fall in that category."
And today's Times looks the financial dealings during Giuliani's mayoral terms. The former mayor, who has claimed to have "turned a $2.3 billion deficit into a multibillion dollar surplus," actually left Bloomberg a bigger deficit than the one Dinkins left Giuliani. Hmm.
Back to the Time article, here's one sentence to consider, "Giuliani's penchant for secrecy, his tendency to value loyalty over merit and his hyperbolic rhetoric are exactly the kinds of instincts that counterterrorism experts say the U.S. can least afford right now."
Tagged
atlanta
bloomberg
city
Fred thompson
giuliani
gun
gun control
immigration
laws
mitt romney
new hampshire
new york
new york city
News: NYC
nyc
people
Politics
republican
romney
rudy giuliani
september 11
television
When I
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Have you seen this Yorkie? NYPD looking for adorable pup dognapped from her Queens home
Suspects were driving a Subaru Forester, police said.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 17, 2026 at 11:36 a.m. ET
Being reigning champions is weird for Knicks fans. We could get used to this.
Seeing high hopes dashed had become so routine, it was part of our identity. This year feels different.
By
Catalina Gonella
News
Being reigning champions is weird for Knicks fans. We could get used to this.
Seeing high hopes dashed had become so routine, it was part of our identity. This year feels different.
By
Catalina Gonella
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
By
Willow Higgins
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
By
Rosemary Misdary
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
By
Samantha Max
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .