FAIR: Actually, Giuliani Has Always Been Like This

[erpowers]

“I will be the hero! These morons—when this is over, I will be the hero…. Anything I did should be praised.”

These are the words of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, speaking of the government operative who leaked information about the president’s conversations with the Ukrainian president that has led to impeachment proceedings. Out of context, they appear to be narcissistic ravings. In context, they are just another installment of the constant refrain Americans are used to hearing from the president’s lead defender. No matter how unhinged Giuliani sounds in one interview, the cameras go back to him again and again.

snip

US media are asking: How could this happen? How did a two-term mayor of a major city, previously a famous federal prosecutor, and someone thought to be a future president, once lauded for reducing crime in New York City and serving as a rallying figure after the World Trade Center attacks, turn into such a primetime clown of the Trump era? How could a crime fighter become the center of criminal intrigue?

snip

A great deal of this gets forgotten, since Giuliani was heralded as a hero when the United States was desperately looking for one after the WTC attacks—despite the fact that his actions on the day of the attacks contributed to the deaths of emergency responders, and his insistence that the air at Ground Zero was safe to breathe without filtration no doubt led to the deaths of many more (Extra!, 11–12/06, 5–6/07). He was also credited with a drop in crime, which allowed capital to return to the city—though the decline in the city’s crime began in 1990, three years before Giuliani took office, and paralleled similar declines in violence in other large cities (FAIR.org, 8/20/13, 12/3/14). Both these myths helped establish his image nationally.

https://fair.org/home/actually-giuliani-has-always-been-like-this/

[Sherman A1]

1. He has always been a pretender

and grifter just like the rest of his playmates.

[Hortensis]

2. Yes. Always unfit. Never "Americas mayor."

That nonsense always disgusted me.

[eppur_se_muova]

3. Don't forget who fostered the career of Bernard Kerik ....

Bernard Bailey Kerik (born September 4, 1955) is an American former police officer, consultant, and convicted felon.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, he served in the United States Army from 1974 to 1977. He then worked various law enforcement jobs in the United States and abroad, joining the New York Police Department (NYPD) in 1986. He is perhaps best known for his 1998-2000 tenure as commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction and his 2000-01 tenure as New York City Police Commissioner, during which he oversaw the police response to the September 11 attacks.

After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, President George W. Bush appointed Kerik as the interior minister of the Iraqi Coalition Provisional Authority. In 2004, Bush nominated Kerik to lead the Department of Homeland Security. However, Kerik soon withdrew his candidacy, explaining that he had employed an illegal immigrant as a nanny. His admission touched off state and federal investigations as a result of which in 2006 Kerik pleaded guilty in Bronx Supreme Court to two unrelated ethics violations (unclassified misdemeanors) and was ordered to pay $221,000 in fines. Kerik then pleaded guilty in 2009 in the Southern District of New York to eight federal charges, including tax fraud and false statements, and on February 18, 2010, was sentenced to four years in federal prison.[1]
***
... transferred to the Intelligence Division in February 1994, where he worked on the protective detail for then-mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.
***
... in January 1995 he was appointed by Mayor Giuliani as the first deputy commissioner of the department.
***
Giuliani appointed Kerik the 40th Police Commissioner of New York City on August 21, 2000.
***
Following his departure from the New York City Police Department, he was employed by Giuliani Partners, a consulting firm formed by the former mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani. He served as a senior vice president at Giuliani Partners and as chief executive officer of Giuliani–Kerik LLC, an affiliate of Giuliani Partners.
***
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Kerik

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

4. I used to love him in The Munsters!

[JHB]

7. The real "Grandpa", Al Lewis, hated Giuliani

From an interview with the NYC underground newspaper The SHADOW, in (guessing from the mention of the election) 1997:

SHADOW:So, what do you think of this [mayoral] election between
Giuliani and [Ruth] Messinger?
LEWIS:Four more years of Benito Giuliani.

SHADOW:Why do you think they elect people like Giuliani?
LEWIS:Hey, you're the guy whose got the newspaper. You tell me.
I'll tell you why: 'cause you haven't convinced enough people.
How do you like that? Ya wanna carry that rock on your head?

SHADOW:How many people read the SHADOW? How many people act on
what they read or do something positive as a result?
LEWIS:If they don't, that's your problem. America gets the
politicians they deserve. That's it. And you keep struggling.
He'll win big. No question. We'll get four more years of this
shit, and it'll get worse.

http://www.the-reelgillman.com/munsters/grandpa/S43grand.html

[Silver1]

5. What he did to NYC

"... which allowed capital to return to the city... "

He allowed big box stores into NY which put all the small, privately owned businesses out of business. There's nothing left but a few barbers and shoe repair shops, everything else is a franchise. He is responsible for the end of the diversity and liveliness that once made NY so great. That's his legacy ... turning one of America's greatest cities into a shopping mall.

Oh, and he had a very good relationship with landlords - and real estate developers.

[TlalocW]

6. He or his handlers were also pretty media-savvy

I recall he was on Seinfeld, playing himself, giving a news conference about his health in relation to a new yogurt franchise, and then he played himself again in, "The Out-of-Towners," starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn (which was ultimately about an ad guy trying to come up with a good slogan/campaign for New York tourism - Rudy being part of the various wacky situations that Steve and Goldie got into that inspires Steve's character at the end engenders positive feelings toward him). I'm sure he did other things/shows that made people believe he had a sense of humor about himself. Hell, Trump did the same thing in the second Home Alone and allowed Chevy Chase to dump popcorn on him during an SNL anniversary special. These are small thing designed to make monsters seem like ordinary people like Richard Nixon's, "Sock it... to me?" bit on, "Laugh-In." Go out and be a little goofy to gain good will from the peasants.

TlalocW