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Breaking: Rudy Giuliani Remembers 9/11 For Us All
By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 2, 2011
Modified Sep 2, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 2, 2011
Modified Sep 2, 2011
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With the 10th anniversary of 9/11 only nine days away, it seems only appropriate that the Mayor of 9/11 Town himself gets to start off commemorating the tragic day. Rudy Giuliani sat down with the Associated Press to talk about "the worst experience of [his] life." Watch him recount the the day below, which he calls "so far beyond what we'd contemplated."
NBC host Lawrence O'Donnell had a problem with Giuliani's interview—on his show this week, O'Donnell ripped into the former mayor, accusing him of making "the worst tactical decision in the history of the city of New York" by ordering the city's emergency command center to be placed in the WTC; it's a decision which Giuliani has previously blamed on Jerry Hauer, then director of emergency management. O'Donnell argues that Giuliani did it despite the objections of police officials because it would make them closer to the City Hall press corps, and would provide him with more photo opportunities. Watch his condemnation of Giuliani below:
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O'Donnell concludes his segment with this takedown of Giuliani: "Despite the painful truth of these details, which show Rudy Giuliani to have been an ego-driven incompetent in dealing with the threat of terrorism in New York City...most of the media will continue to portray him as one of the heroes of 9/11. Know this: there is no more fraudulent public image in our politics."
Giuliani, who may still have presidential aspirations, also sat down with WCBS this week to discuss his painful memories of watching helplessly as people leaped from the burning towers, and having to give his first public speeches on the death toll. “The first estimate that I was given of the number of people that we lost was 12,000...I really didn’t know. So, when I answered ‘It would be too much for us to bear’ I was almost talking about myself. It’s almost too much for me to bear,” said Giuliani.
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9/11
rudy giuliani
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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